


Color Morning

by running_downn



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Dark fic, Dick Grayson is Beautiful, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, NO CAPES, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Smut, Song fic, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, The Joker - Freeform, YUP ITS ONE OF THOSE, are my kink, because character development, here we go kids, i promise my writing is better than this, jaydick soulmate au, no capes AU, or are there ;), sorry I'm bad at tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 16:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17881040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/running_downn/pseuds/running_downn
Summary: The scent of early morning Gotham was surely something to be hit with, but it was home to Jason Todd. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of what was clean air compared to the stuffiness of the apartment he’d gotten so used to. He itched at the hopeful words on his wrist before opening his eyes, racing down the fire escape and through the alley.---This is a soulmate au where each pair has a song lyric from the same song on their body. The lyric reflects the persons goals, current state, emotions, etc and is on the opposite person. These are the basics and more will be later in the fic. The story takes place in a no capes universe, however don't worry, you'll get a nice little spin on the story :) I change some canon and background but I do have easter eggs and scenes based off said canon events. Anyways, please, enjoy!Updates every Monday/Tuesday - HIATUS





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Panic attacks, drug abuse, physical abuse. 
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this, seeing as it's only one chapter so far and has an undecided amount overall, but I promise I'll get all that stuff up once the story is more organized and planned. I have a one shot published but this is a full fledged story that I plan to make pretty long and update as much as I can. Hope you enjoy!

Jason Todd held comfort in the short phrases written on his wrist. Phrases that didn’t change very often, which he was more than okay with as the current one was the only thing keeping him hopeful in the very slightest. For a while before it’s first change when he was six it was simply: “Limitless,” which gave the boy more hope than it should have as before a soulmark changes for the first time, both people have the same lyric. 

Their first lyric was nice and comforting through the hard times. But the day it changed caused Jay’s heart to drop and twist without him knowing why it hurt so much. He could never forget the day he looked down to see, “goddamn, why’d I ever let go?” in the most elegant of fonts. He didn’t quite know what it meant, and frankly he found it slightly amusing to have a bad word in it. Despite knowing that it wasn’t the most positive of lyrics, it was fascinating for a child on the streets of crime alley. Asking what it was however was quite difficult with his mother checked out on the bathroom floor nearly every day before he ran off. 

He didn’t want to walk in and wait for her to wake up one day, and have that be the day she never did. 

So he ran. 

For some time before then he’d managed to get pretty good at doing what he had to do, with his father never coming home one day and his mother on the ground. Stealing was much easier than he’d thought, and while getting chased by the cops every so often was terrifying, he grew to love the adrenaline. His decided that was the only rush he’d ever allow himself to get addicted to. 

Despite his shit show of a life, Jason always wondered what song he and whoever his soulmate had. And while he found the concept of soulmates pointless (his parents a prime example), he was still curious. Most of all, he wondered what poor person was stuck with his lyric. He was never in what one would call a good enough place for his lyric to be happy or hopeful, much unlike his partners. 

After being on the streets for a few years he was found, starving and barely conscious from fatigue and freezing in the rain. A man with pale skin and a purple jacket loomed over the boy, a young woman clinging to his arm. 

_“Aw poor little boy layin’ in the rain,” her voice called out, echoing in Jason’s head. “What’s he doin’ all alone out ‘ere?” Her accent was heavy,_ New Jersey for sure _, Jason managed to pull together in his head._

_“I can see that,” the man crooned, voice raspy and a smile apparent behind it. “What is a little boy such as yourself doing out here, alone, in an alley full of psychos!?” he chuckled, reaching down and grabbing the crowbar Jason had used earlier to break into a warehouse. He needed something to sell for money, anything to buy a chilli dog at the least. Jason felt the cool metal scrape against his cheek, the man using it to turn and examine his head. The crowbar fell beside him, clanging on the pavement of the alley as the man stood up straight._

_“Can we keep ‘im? Can we?” the woman persisted, heels clacking on the ground._

_“Well,” the other pondered, stepping back and observing the kid for a final time. “I don’t see why not.”_

_“Oh Puddin’!” the girl yelled in triumph. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Look at ‘im, he looks like a little bird shiverin’ in the cold.” Jason attempted to look up, to clear his vision but his head was pounding and he couldn’t stop shaking to save his life. He didn’t want to go with them, he wanted to retaliate and refuse their goddamn charity. He didn’t need them._

_But he was far too weak to do so, let alone sit up straight on his own. The real question was why these two wanted him in the first place, why the woman was so desperate to “keep him.” The rain continued to fall on his face as he felt himself getting picked up,_ _brought into a house and set on a couch. This was the most luxury he knew he was ever going to get_ , _so he let his eyes close as sleep took over._

“Get up will ya?!” Jason awoke to a sting on his cheek and blankets being yanked off his curled up figure. The teen groaned, rubbing his eyes and adjusting his focus on the man above him. “It’s four in the fuckin’ afternoon.”

“I’m up, I’m up,” he muttered, sitting up and sighing to himself. The boy watched as Jack darted from the room, decked out in his usual purple suit and slicked back hair. His face was as pale as the day he plucked Jason from the side of the street, and if Jason had anything to say about it, the skin was somehow much whiter. He assumed face paint, something that good old Mister J never took off. It was a mask he wore all day and night, one that was seemingly driving him mad. 

“Afternoon Puddin’!” Harley’s voice chirped from the kitchen, “todays heist goin’ down good?” 

“If the buffoons I’m working with actually do their damn part, yes it should go swell,” Jack huffed, words muffled from the god awful sound of chewing. Jason tugged himself out of bed, making it lazily and trudging to the bathroom across the hall. He looked in the mirror for a split second, not wanting to see a red hand mark on his cheek he knew was forming. He patted down his black hair, strands refusing to stay down that he eventually gave up on. 

“It’s alright, J, we got our nifty distraction if ya need some help bustin’ in or outta there!” 

Shit. That would be a problem. Jason already has his day planned out, and it wasn’t exactly something he wished to skip out on as scary as he knew it would be. He needed to do this, and running into a bank pretending to be a scared little boy was not an option. 

“Ha!” Jack barked out a harsh laugh, slamming a glass on the counter. “I suppose so, gotta use him as much as we can before he hits the teen years, he can only be a whining baby for so long.” Jason knew the man was just trying to provoke him, knowing that the teen could hear them in the small apartment. He looked up at his reflection, furrowing his brows at the sight of how genuinely _tired_ he looked. The bags under his eyes were nearly black, and the freckles dusting his cheeks were barely visible from the dirt smudged on his face. All he wanted was a damn shower, but he’d used his time for the week and had to wait a few more days before being allowed to do as deep a clean as he could in five minutes. His hair felt disgusting, so he eventually gave up on trying to tame the natural curls that fell over his eyes.

“Speakin’ of!” Harley exclaimed, footsteps running to the bathroom. “Afternoon Jaybird!” she gleamed, planting a kiss on his other cheek and leaving a bright red lipstick mark on his skin. Jason frowned at the sight, but pulled himself together enough to mumble a “good morning” in return. 

“I still don’t get why you call me a bird,” he grumbled, wiping his cheek as the blonde stepped back. She placed a hand over sweatpants sitting lowly on her hip, a white crop top swaying as she leaned against the doorframe. 

“Oh I dunno, you’ve reminded me of a little birdie since we metchya, you’re just so small and cute!” the woman giggled, ruffling his hair and immediately pulling back with a scrunched nose. “Ew, what’d ya put in that, grease straight from the car?” 

“No,” the boy snapped, crossing his arms and looking down into the sink. “I used my shower day too early this week.” He hated how pitiful he sounded. In all honestly he could easily get out of the apartment and run to who knows where. Harley wouldn’t hurt him, if anything she’d actually worry for him. It was Jack he was afraid of. Deathly so. 

“Huh, shame,” Harley pouted before making her way out of the bathroom. “C’mon Jaybird, lunch’s ready!” Compared to Jack, Harley really wasn’t all that bad. Whenever the man went on “runs” Jay would be stuck with the woman if she wasn’t needed by her boyfriend’s side. She fed him, sometimes even let him wash his hair in the kitchen sink, small things she knew Jack wouldn’t notice. Compared to a lot of people’s lives in this area of Gotham, he had it good. A roof over his head, more food than many others had, and a well paying “job” if you could even call it that. He was good at stealing tires, nothing more to it. 

Jason made his way into the kitchen, ignoring Jack’s harsh whispers to Harley as he held onto her wrist tightly, surely leaving marks. She plastered a smile on her face, nodding and kissing him on the cheek before he walked out. “Am I gonna be needed for another job?” Jay asked, voice low and exhausted as he sat at the bar. 

“Why, you got plans?” Harley snapped, still ever so slightly shaken from whatever Jack had said to her before his exit. 

Jason simply shrugged, shoving half a sandwich in his mouth. “Tires. The usual.” He didn’t look up. 

The girl turned off the stove burner, biting her bottom lip harshly before looking back to Jason with a light smile. “I suppose the window might’ve been left unlocked when I went ta get some clothes on,” she shrugged in return, winking as she walked down the hall to her room. “Silly old me! Always leavin’ the windows unlocked when my bra gets stuck! Damn thing!” she called from behind a now closed door. 

The boy smiled to himself, slipping on a pair of shoes and tugging his red hoodie on. No need to put on jeans as he slept in them every night. You never know when you’ll need to run. Jason darted across the living room, opening the window and placing a leg out onto the fire escape. He paused, leaning back in and looking inside. “Thanks Harley,” he said before crawling out. The scent of early morning Gotham was surely something to be hit with, but it was home to him. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of what was clean air compared to the stuffiness of the apartment he’d gotten so used to. He itched at the words on his wrist before opening his eyes, racing down the escape and through the alley. 

Running through the allies of Gotham is what can only be described as, “an experience.” For some it would be absolute hell, with the twists and turns, having to push past more homeless people than Jason could ever count, risk getting beaten to a pulp from looking at someone the wrong way, a rush the boy grew to adore. However, he’d always wanted to see how well he could navigate the rooftops, and he could only imagine the sheer adrenaline one would get from doing so. It sounded like heaven, and the teen stashed it in the back of his head along with countless other plans for the future he’d have after today. For today was the day Jay would finally go home. Be with his family. 

Leaving was an impulse decision, running away being something Jay did quite frequently back when he lived with his mom. His young mind figured that if his mother truly saw how much her addiction was hurting the family, if she finally realized that after losing her son, she’d straighten up. She’d be okay, she’d go back to normal. He really never should have left, but hey, maybe his dumbass plan worked in the long run. He knew she’d still be there, not having any money to move apartments let alone leave Gotham. And Jason couldn’t wait to see her. He pushed away the grudges he once held when she didn’t look for him, for the amount of times he had to play father and take care of her near lifeless form almost every night. 

Now, he just missed his mom. And today was the day he would finally see her again. Be with her again. 

Jays mind must have taken up all the time on his way there because the hour it took felt like minutes as he slowed to a stop outside his old apartment building. A hole in the front window of the complex still there and distinguishable for only someone that knew it was there. For someone that used it to get back home after running away for many nights. He went around the side, eyeing the fire escapes and finding the one leading to the third floor. His home. 

The lights were on, always a good sign. Light drops of rain fell on Jay’s cheeks, forcing him to have a sure reason to go inside. His heart was pounding, loud in his ears and muffling the rest of the world around him. The window was open; another good sign, she was getting fresh air. The smell of chilli wafted from the apartment, nostalgia washing over Jason and being the final straw in getting him to force his limbs to move. It was starting to rain harder, and the sun had begun to set which left bright reds and oranges dancing in whatever was visible of the sky. Jay made his way up the escape, not caring who saw or heard him when he finally pulled himself onto the platform right outside the window. _His window._  

_One leg after the other, one arm at a time,_ the teen thought, pushing himself through the small opening and nearly falling on the stained carpet. The smells of home poured in his nose, wet dog the most prominent. His dog, shit he missed that thing. The TV was on, growing to be the only source of light in the room aside from a flickering lamp in the corner as it slowly got darker outside. The air was different, something was off… something was wrong.

“Mom?” Jason forced out, voice raspy from not talking for hours. “Mom, you home?” He clenched his fists, preparing for an intruder to pop their head from a corner, his dad even to be sitting in the other room. His eyes darted to the closed bathroom door. The light was on. “Shit, no, no, no, no,” he began muttering to himself, hands loosening as he ran to the door. He placed a hand on the doorknob, twisting it slightly when he realized it was unlocked. The world drained away, fading from the corners of his vision as everything froze. 

Jay turned the handle, not even realizing that he wasn’t breathing. He pushed the door open, eyes blurring as soon as it hit something on the floor. Someone. 

A thin woman in a light dress, lying motionless on the bathroom floor. But no ragged breathing, no harsh rise and fall of the chest, no vomit on the floor or anywhere for that matter, no sign of life. Just the blueness of skin, open eyes with blown pupils staring at the wall, and a syringe laying on the ground next to a colourless hand. _No, no, no, fuck no this can’t be happening this isn’t real there’s no way- she can’t be… dead._

“GCPD, what’s your emergency?” 

When had he called the police?

“Hello? Are you okay?”

He couldn’t breathe. 

“We’re sending officers to your location, stay where you are. Can you say anything?” 

He needed to get out of there. 

“Please calm down, deep breaths, just stay put and we’ll-” 

How did he get out of the apartment, when did he get on the fire escape? It was raining. That was nice, rain felt night on his skin. He was running, which felt just as nice. But his chest burned, shit it hurt to breathe but he kept going. Where was he going again? 

“Watch it! Goddamn fuckin’ kids.” Jason snapped back. Heavy rainfall, the rush of cars on a wet road, his heart beating in his ears, his breath loud and fast. “Did ya hear me? Piss off!” 

“F-Fuck you,” he spat, eyebrows creasing as his voice came out shaking and pathetic. He clenched his fists, quickly observing his surroundings. Neon lights of a burger joint, standing on the edge of the road, the border of poor and middle class of Gotham, an old scruffy man with a cigarette in his mouth yelling at him. Jason scoffed. 

“Do you need to be taught a lesson young man?” 

Jay didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. It was raining harder now, the sun nearly completely out of sight and the streetlights turning on. The sharp glow of gold reflected off the road, the rain continuing to grow harsher by the second. The boys mind was blank, completely shut down as his emotions took over any sense of action he had. What was he doing out here anyways?

Tires. Right. 

Jason looked around, laughs dying away and smile faltering almost immediately. He heard the man mutter something, more than likely a threat or an insult, as he walked away. Clearly Jay just wasn’t worth the effort. The thought was forgotten as his eyes settled on a beautiful, sleek, black car. It was close to futuristic in design, having to be a new model as Jay couldn’t work out what it was for the life of him. He looked around for the owner, as there was no possible way this nice of a car belonged to someone eating at _Big Belly Burger._ It was just impossible. 

Jason crept beside the window, noticing a large man in a slick black suit sitting at a table with a boy seeming a bit older than Jay. A father and son, laughing, eating together. Living. A faint memory of a circus and the mouthwatering scent of popcorn played behind his eyes for a split second: the only time he and his father were truly a normal family. His heart jumped to his throat, the sound of a crowd cheering fading with the memory before he shook his head. He refused to think about it, he couldn't. He needed to sleep, where could he? He couldn’t go back to Jack’s, he’d get his ass handed to him and he was just way too tired to deal with that. There was nowhere he could-

Except there was.

He could get into a stupid car. 

Jason blinked himself back into reality for the millionth time, making his way over to the vehicle sitting in the parking lot of the establishment. He examined it quickly noticing the electric locks through the windows and more than comfortable looking seats in the back. He looked around again, this time heading over to a large dumpster in the back of the restaurant. Surely he would be able to find the only two objects he needed to get inside a car. Finding those objects certainly didn’t take long: an old wire hanger and a metal spatula. He bent the hanger until it was relatively straight before deciding he had all he needed. This was too easy.

The teen rushed back to the car, clothes now completely soaked from the downpour he’d found himself in. Luckily it didn’t take long for Jay to wedge the spatula into the top of the car door, easing the metal wire through the slit and pressing the button to unlock the door. The satisfying sound a click sent a wave of relief through Jason’s body as he immediately opened the back door, crawling in and closing it behind him. It was still a bit cold, but at least the inside was dry and he wasn’t getting constantly rained on anymore. The teen refused to lay down, instead sitting straight up and leaning a head against the window, following falling drops of water as they slid down the glass. This was fine, he would be fine. 

What was he running from again? 

 

~

 

A sharp knocking on the window woke Jason, his whole body jumping at the loud noise. His gaze frantically found the tall figure of a man staring down at him, holding an expression the boy wasn’t too keen on keeping an eye on. Jay scurried to the other side of the car, opening the door and darting out.

“Why were you in our car?” a gentle voice rang out as Jason felt a sharp tug on the back of his hoodie. He looked up to see the boy from earlier, except this time he was able to stare into deep blue eyes for a second before processing what exactly was happening. “Did you break into our car? Cause if you did I’m pretty impressed, and if you needed to get out of the rain you could’ve just come inside the restaurant.” There was too much talking, too much for his mind to handle. 

“Let me go,” Jason snapped, jerking away from the others grasp. 

“So why did you-”

“None of your business, okay? Now leave me alone.” God his voice hurt, it strained with every word.

“Leave him be, he’s just a kid. Younger than you by the looks of it,” a low voice called out. _Twelve isn’t that young…_  the figure from earlier making his way to the two and holding and umbrella over his head. “You did break into our car though. Didn’t take anything I see.” _Don’t say anything._

“We have food,” the other boy said as he looked to his father. “I don’t want the rest, he can have it.”

“I don’t think-” the man started, quickly interrupted by the boy.

“We have plenty at home, and besides he didn’t steal anything so he probably just needed some sleep. Which means he’s probably hungry now so it’s okay, he can have it.”

The large man paused, letting out a soft sigh before reaching in front of Jason, a bag in hand emitting the aroma only a fast food burger could. “He’s right, we have plenty at home.” The man’s voice was monotone, gentle, yet way more intimidating than Jason cared to admit. 

“I’m fine,” he spat, shoving the food away. “I can take care of myself.” And with that he ran. He ran as fast as he could without passing out from lack of oxygen; which was shockingly far with his eventual pounding headache and chattering teeth from the cold. Jason knew why he’d run in the first place, he knew why he was sleeping in some millionaire's car. He knew what happened back at his mom’s place. He was surprised he hadn’t fallen over with that realization as he ran on wet roads and climbed slick fire escapes. He had to go back. He didn’t have a choice. 

And so he kept running despite the burning in his chest until he got back to home sweet home where he knew Jack Napier was waiting for him. Fear coursed through his body, worse than it ever had before. He’d never been out this late without reason, and without any money to back him up? He was screwed. 

Mister J tested his new crowbar that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the end of chapter one! I’m really excited for this to pick up speed story wise cause I have some pretty cool stuff planned for this one. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed and any support is immensely appreciated. Thanks for making it to the end of the chapter, let me know what you think and I’ll be posting the next chapter as soon as I can.  
> -Dean


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait until Friday but I love you guys and the response has been overwhelming, especially towards my most recent posted one-shot, so I had more motivation to get this done :) I'm thinking of having a set schedule, maybe post on Thursdays/Fridays? Who knows haha. Anyways, I meant it when I said this was a slow burn, but trust me. These past chapters are building for a story I'm immensely excited to write, so patience. I swear it'll be worth it.  
> Warnings: Brief depiction of violence, very brief depiction of anxiety attacks.

**Three years later**

 

Jason sat at the table in the cramped kitchen, tiredly shoving spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth. The white noise of the news playing in the living room echoed in his head. The sound managed to block out or at least muffle the constant arguments of Harley and Jack. Who was to say what they were yelling about this time, all Jay knew was that he just had to force himself to block it out and ignore the eventual smashing of something. Whatever was closest to one of them was bound to be broken within the next five minutes.

After sluggishly finishing his food, Jason got up from the table, washed out the bowl and headed to the bathroom. His reflection glared back at him the second he walked in. He’d gotten a bit taller over the years, decently built as well. He wasn’t overly muscular but at least he wasn’t a twig anymore. Jack and his “training” made sure of that. He placed his hands on either side of the sink, taking a deep breath and letting his head hang as his thoughts spiraled. 

It didn’t last long, as the bedroom door down the hall slammed shut and snapped Jay back into focus. Footsteps grew louder until Harley leaned into the bathroom with a wide smile. “Well hurry up and get dressed, Mistah J’s got a special job for ya,” the woman said with a wink before turning around and making her way to the kitchen. Jason wondered how long it would take for her to realize that Jack never had or ever would love her.

“I’m so excited,” Jason mumbled, voice laced with sarcasm that only he could hear. He 

raised his wrist to sit in front of him as he ran a light finger over the words.  _ We were gold. _ The font never lost its touch, just as gorgeous as ever and sending a warmth through Jason’s chest. He’d never met his soulmate to his knowledge, not that he knew many people in the first place. At this point however he wasn’t even sure that he wanted to as it was just another life for him to fuck up. Jason always knew his soulmate was a beautiful person, that he was the epitome of kindness and warmth. But that’s what scared him the most. 

The boy shook the thoughts from his head, brushing his hair from his face. When Jay was younger his curls really bothered him, seeming messy and in the way, but he figured there was no point in straightening them. A buzzcut was the last thing he was going to do, so he kept them. Not that Roy Harper was complaining. 

The two had what one would call an odd relationship. Best friends for sure, but over the years it just got confusing. Jason thought of the nights he’d find a way to an old, empty apartment that Roy set up camp in a while back. The pair would cuddle up on the ground for warmth during storms or winter, too scared to light the fireplace and get caught trespassing.  It was just too risky, so they sucked it up and snuggling under an old blanket on the ground becoming tradition. As for Kori Ander, well, Jason was nearly as close with her as he was with Roy. In fact, they dated for a month or so before the teen realized why he wasn’t attracted to her that way; or girls in general for that matter. 

Jason missed them more than he thought he could miss someone (that was still alive that is). In fact, his plan to see them was set for today and he was struggling with containing his excitement to get out of the trashy apartment he was forced to call home to see them. 

Jay knew he’d come back with gashes and bruises, and while he knew how to bandage them, it was always nice to have someone else do it. To feel that someone actually cared. The fifteen year old would never admit it, but his craving for comfort and human contact was unhealthy at this point, and he wasn’t getting it from Harley or good old Mister J; who had actually found a new name for himself. 

“The Joker is gonna be doin’ a pretty big one today,” Harley called out as Jason left the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen. She tied her hair into two tight ponytails that swung at the sides of her head. 

“And what exactly does he need me for?” 

“You-” 

“Wait let me guess: distraction” Jason huffed. He knew what they were doing was wrong, people were being killed and he was part of it. But he couldn’t help but want some of the action, if anything he could possibly prevent the death count from going over zero if he could just get further than running to the register in fake tears. “‘I’m lost! Please! Help me, I can’t find my mom and I’m, s-scared!’ Pathetic,” he scoffed. 

“Actually,” Harley snapped, “if you’d listen to me for once you’d know you ain’t doin’ somethin’ small.” 

Jay raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. “He’s givin’ you an assignment, tire run.” She picked at a loose string on the hem of her black, latex tights. Jason opened his mouth to retaliate but Harley’s next words kept him quiet. “Some billionaire.” Harley yelled in frustration as she tugged at her form fitting dress.

“Ha, a harlequin?” Jason held back laughs, recognizing the attire from a book. 

“Shut it!” Harley clenched her fists, a pout on her lips. “Mistah J is lettin’ me tag along on his little bank heist, and the costume is some flare he let me add!” 

“Right… flare.”

“If you don’t shut it right now-”

“You’re not gonna tell on me, Harley. We both know that,” Jay sighed, rubbing a scar on his collar bone and eyeing her knowingly. She kept her gaze on his eyes, refusing to look down. 

“Don’t, don’t do that Jay. I didn’t mean for ya to get-”

“I know I know, just, forget it.” Jason shrugged. Success. “Let’s go over the plan then, assuming he actually has one.”

“Oh you know ‘im, he always has a plan. Just cause he doesn’t tell ya don’t mean it ain’t there.” Harley made her way over to the couch, sitting beside the teen and pulling out her makeup bag. “Now,” she began, applying white face paint over her skin. “Bruce Wayne, heard of him?”

Jason nearly choked, lips tugging into a smile. “We’re gonna rob Bruce Wayne? That, billionaire playboy on TV and all over every media platform?” 

“Hush! It’s a good plan!”

“Right, right, go on, tell me how we’re gonna steal from Bruce Wayne, one of the most secured human beings on this planet,” Jay chuckled. 

“Hmph,” Harley pouted, moving to put on red paint below her eyes. “What’s gonna happen is that you are gonna go to his manor, see if you can get in and get anythin’ ya can. If not, just take the tires.” This was not going to work. “While you’re doin’ that and Bruce is distracted-”

“Wait, are you telling me to get caught?” 

“Well, not exactly...”

“And you’re using me as a distraction?! Like I always am? Is that literally all I am, to anyone?!” Jason stood, his short temper taking hold.

“Jaybird, stop,” Harley snapped, lips tugging into a slight frown.

“No! It’s fine! I’m just gonna, go get arrested so you two can what, get into his bank account and take some money right? Wow,” he began clapping sarcastically, pacing around the room, “flawless plan ‘Mistah J’! Flawless!” 

“Jason!” Harley hissed, standing up as well. “If he was here an’ he heard you he’d-” 

Jay paused, waiting for her to speak, but she looked down and closed her mouth. “Kill me? What. What would he do Harley?” Jason went over to the window, shoving his shoes on without bothering to untie them to do so. 

“Where’re you goin’?” Concern flooded the girl’s tone. 

“None of your fuckin’ business,” Jason spat, opening the window and stepping out. 

“Please, be back on-”

“On time, I know alright? I’m not a baby.” The boy slipped through the opening, slamming the window shut as he climbed down the fire escape. “I’m not a baby,” he repeated to himself, yanking his hood up and shoving his hands in his pockets. He turned suddenly to face a large dumpster sitting against the alley wall, “I’m not a fucking child!” he screamed, slamming a fist into the metal. He held back any wince of pain, because  _ shit  _ that hurt and he refused to acknowledge it. Jay pulled his already bruising fist back into his pocket, sniffling before continuing through the maze of Gotham. 

Roy’s place wasn’t too hard to find, the shattered windows and obvious abandoned demeanor sitting in the shadows of buildings. It only stood out when you were looking for it. Jason subconsciously gripped the wrist his soulmark was on, a last attempt for hope or comfort as he crept in through the front door. It was more of a condo than an apartment, as it was one story and thankfully had no chance of anyone else living there. 

The space was just as rundown as the last time Jay visited, shattered bottles on the ground and countless pieces of torn furniture scattered everywhere. Jason opened his mouth to welcome himself into the place when he was greeted with an arm around his neck. He was pulled to the ground, slammed on his stomach as a knee pressed into his back. The arm once holding him in a headlock was now pinning him down by the back of his neck. 

“Jesus Christ, it’s me,” Jason strained, turning over and shoving the form off of him. 

“Oh fuck,” a familiar voice rang through the room, “shit, Jay I’m sorry, thought you were someone else.” Roy chuckled guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck. The redhead stood, grabbing Jason’s hand and assisting him to do the same. 

“What if I was Kori?” Jay snapped, rolling his shoulders and wincing in pain. “You would’ve either a: scared her to death, or b: killed her.” 

“Nah,” Roy scoffed, “she’s grown tougher than that.” The two nearly glared at each other for a full minute before breaking the silence with laughter. “So, we gonna hug now or somethin’?”

“Oh shut up,” Jay smiled, pulling the other into a tight embrace. “Shit I missed you.”

“Missed you too ya big idiot,” Roy sighed into his friends shoulder before pulling back. “How’ve you been? Are you doing okay? They haven’t beat ya too hard have they?”

“Calm down,” Jay chuckled lightly. “Forget about me, how are you and Kori? Where is she by the way?” Roy tensed, biting his lip and looking down. “What, is she okay?”

“She’s fine, fine, just…” the shorter paused. “She left.”

“She what?!”

“I tried to-”

“You let her leave? Roy- we had a plan! We were getting out of here  _ together _ . All three of us! And you just-”

“Jason!” Roy yelled, grabbing the others shoulders. “It’s okay, just, let me explain will you?” Jay inhaled shakily, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly.

“Fine, fine, what happened?” The two sat on what was left of a couch, ripped fabric exposing springs and a moldy mattress. 

“We were on a run, well, if you count stealing leftovers from a restaurant a run,” Roy scoffed. “She was distracting the waiter, using her whole ‘sorry we’re just so hungry mister’ and hoping they’d take pity on us or somethin’, give us a bag of fresh stuff to go. We’ve done it countless times and I’ve always kept a close eye on her so you can stop giving me that look.” Jason rolled his eyes, letting out a huff of air. “But, they weren’t having it and called the police. We tried to run but they held us in, and I can’t tell you for the life of me why they were so, so, intent on getting us in trouble.”

“Probably cause you look like a couple of homeless kids from Crime Alley? Like, exactly what you guys are?” 

“You are too!” Roy snapped.

Jay sat up crossing his arms, “never said I wasn't. Just, continue.”

The redhead took a breath, sitting back against the arm of the couch. “The police came in, searched our bags. Kori was carrying mine to pull off the whole ‘we need help’ charade.” He froze.

Jay raised an eyebrow. “So?” 

Silence. 

“Roy, what was in the bag?” 

Hesitation. 

“Did- fuck Roy, did she get caught with your shit?!” 

“I never meant for her to! I tried to tell them it was mine, she refused to back down, she kept saying it was hers and when they took her out she bolted and disappeared I didn’t know what to do, if I fought back I’d only get into trouble and I-”

“Roy, breathe.” Jason placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, looking him in the eyes. Roy didn’t even realize he was starting to freak until Jay continued telling him to just breathe. “It’s okay, it isn’t your fault, you didn’t think they’d call the cops. You shouldn’t carry that crap around with you but, you didn’t know your bag would get checked. Kori’s fine, she’s Kori.”

“Right, yeah, yeah it’s fine, Kori’s okay,” Roy stumbled over his words, clenching his fists in his lap. “Fuck, Jay what if she’s not? What if they got her?” 

“I highly doubt our Kori would let herself get caught by a couple of cops,” Jay forced a reassuring smile. “We raised her tougher than that, didn’t we?”

“Isn’t it the other way around?” Roy chuckled as muscles he didn’t know were tense relaxed. “You’re right, she’s fine, she’s gonna be fine.”

“And we’re gonna hear from her soon,” Jason continued, rubbing the other’s shoulder soothingly. “She’ll tell us she found a cool resort somewhere in Florida, and we’ll go down. Just the three of us, causing trouble together.” 

Harper barked out a laugh, rolling his eyes and letting out a long breath. “Yeah right, like we’d survive in that oven state.”

“Oven state?” Jay scoffed, sitting back on the couch, “of all the things you could’ve called it?” 

“What can I say? I’m a book of well crafted metaphors,” Roy smirked. 

The two fell into a comforting silence, not worrying, not thinking, just being there by each other’s side. For a minute Jason forgot why he’d gone to Roy in the first place, memories from just that morning nearly gone. He rubbed the tattoo on his wrist, a habit he’d grown into doing quite often. 

“‘We were gold?’” 

Jay looked up, “hm?” 

“Your soulmark, right? The thing you’re rubbing like it’s a newborn baby?”

“How the fuck do you think people rub newborn babies?”

Roy shrugged, “like that, right? It’s a comfort thing?”

Jason let out a string of light laughs, looking down to the mark. “Yeah, sure.”

“Really though,” the teen inquired, “sounds like a nice lyric to have.” 

“Damn right it is,” Jason looked back up to his friend. “I feel real bad for whoever has mine, it’s probably something like ‘help I’m sad I steal tires for my first job instead of working at Target.’” 

“Pff, as if that’s a song lyric-”

“Oh shut it,” Jay interrupted, punching the other’s arm playfully. “So, this wasn’t what I planned on doing once I got here, but I thought you should know Kori isn’t the only one with police troubles.”

“What did you do now?”

“Nothing!” A pause. “Yet…”

Roy turned to the taller, eyebrows creased with worry. “Well, what are you  _ going  _ to do?” Jason knew he was going to get arrested at the very least. There was no way a billionaire such as Bruce Wayne was going to let a scrappy looking teenager leave after stealing tires from his car. For all he knew, Bruce had a secret dungeon in his basement and Jay would never see the light of day again. He most definitely allowed to tell anyone, but he wasn’t about to disappear without  _ someone  _ knowing. If there was someone that actually cared about him and needed to know, it was Roy. 

“Jack’s having me steal from Bruce Wayne as a distraction while he-”

“Fucking- What?!” Roy coughed, choking on his own air. Somehow. “Bruce Wayne? Probably the richest and most protected person in America?!”

“Ha, yeah that’s the one,” Jay sighed. “They want me to take some tires,  _ get caught _ , and just be fine with it I guess?” 

“Jason you can’t possibly be thinking of doing this.”

“Well what choice do I have?”

“Just, ugh, I don’t know! Stay here? Jack won’t know where you are unless for some reason you told him where I live.” Roy ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath of air. 

“No, of course not, I’m not that stupid. But I can’t just, disappear. He’ll think I went to the cops, do you have any idea how much shit he’s done?” 

“It can’t be that bad-”   


“He’s killed innocent people, Roy!” Jason yelled, voice wavering. “He, he’s insane! And I know about all his plans, who  _ he is _ . He will kill me, don’t you understand? He’ll, he’ll find me and kill me. You too if he found out I was with you!”

“Okay, okay I get it. Staying here isn’t an option.”

“Obviously,” Jason muttered. 

Roy paused, biting his lip. “What if, what if you try to pull one of your lost teen acts on Bruce? Except, this time make it a little more truthful. Tell him you have to do it, and maybe he won’t call the cops on you?” 

“I don’t think he’s gonna give a shit if there’s a sad teenager on his driveway, crying cause someone ‘made him steal the tires.’” 

“Well I don’t know what to tell you, you need to do something, you can’t just let yourself get arrested because Napier wants some money.” 

Jason fell back on the couch, running his hands over his face. “I don’t know… just know that if I vanish, this is why.” 

“I can come with-”

“No, Roy. You need to stay and wait for Kori to come back,” Jay said, standing and making his way to the window as Roy followed. “She’s coming back, and you need to be here when she does.” 

The shorter paused, looking his friend dead in the eye. “And you’re coming back too. We’ll be waiting for you. Because Jason Todd if you don’t get your sorry ass back here I-” 

“Don’t even say it, dumbass,” Jason sighed, pulling Roy into one last hug. “I’ll come back.” They pulled away, Roy reaching up to ruffle the others hair. 

“See ya soon buddy.” 

And with that Jason was out the door, sprinting through Crime Alley once again. 

 

~

 

“So, the birdie returns,” Jack’s voice called from the living room the second Jason walked through the door. The man sat on the couch, legs crossed and a sickening grin plastered on his face. “Come here, kiddo,” he sneered. 

Jay tensed immediately, fists tightening in his hoodie pocket. Jack was in his Joker “outfit,” if you could even call it that as he never seemed to take it off. Jason couldn’t remember the last time he saw the man without the purple suit, bright green hair and white face. But this time something was different, an addition to his attire. The Joker had bright red lips, drawn on to widen the smile he always wore. 

“Well, c’mon! Don’t be shy, I need to show you something.” Jack’s voice sent chills down the teens spine, Harley’s too by the looks of it as she sat motionless at the kitchen table. Jason slowly followed the man towards the bathroom, being grabbed and pulled in as the door shut behind them. “You see, Jay, sometimes in life, one needs to go to great lengths to get what they want.”

He pulled out a switchblade, holding it against Jason’s mouth. 

“Now, I could just leave myself a man in face paint, but that’s no fun at all!” Jack laughed, voice torn. The boy stood frozen, paralyzed from fear as the color drained from his face. The blade pressed against the inner corner of his mouth, the metal cold against his skin. “Harley and I have be ever so kind to you, so I was a tad shocked when I heard you’d thrown a tantrum and left when she simply asked for your help!” 

“I, I didn’t throw-”

“You ran out!” Jack wrapped his other arm around Jays shoulder, squeezing it harshly and moving closer to his ear. “Left us. You’d think,” he hissed, “you’d show a little more gratitude after what happened to your mother.” Jason felt his heart in his throat as the knife pressed harder. Sweat built on his brows as he stared at himself in the mirror: a scared little boy he swore to never become. 

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” Jay muttered. 

“Oh I know,” Jack shrugged, pulling the knife away and causing a wave of relief to wash over the boy. “Which is why I know you’ll be here to watch me do this, like a good son should for his father.” Words of denial clawed at Jason’s throat, begging to be said as Jack gripped his chin and turned the boy’s head to face him. “Take a good, long look, Jaybird. Because you are going to be witness to the creation… of me.” Jay refused to show any fear, any tension or worry about what was going to happen. 

Not that he had to wait very long. 

Jack brought the blade up to his own mouth, pressing against the corner on his lips as blood began to bead on the cut. Jason attempted to look away but his head was jerked right back and forced to face the two’s reflection. The man dug the knife into his skin, chuckles spilling from his mouth as blood began to seep from the wound. He drew a sharp line up, curving slightly and following the red smile he’d painted on. And all Jason could do was watch. 

Jack began laughing harder as he brought the knife to the other side of his face, mirroring his actions and carving another uneven line into his cheek. Red poured down his neck as he made no attempt to stop it, laughter echoing in the small room. “See, Birdie?! What’s the point in drawing a smile when you can just do it all the time?” The Joker’s voice was raspy and harsh, breath warm against the boy’s neck. “You’ve got a lot of work to do tonight kiddo, so go do your job and no one’ll get hurt, pumpkin,” The Joker gleamed as he patted Jason’s head and pressed his face to the other’s cheek. He made his way out of the bathroom, Jay immediately washing his face frantically the second the door closed. He scrubbed at the warm blood smeared on his skin even after it was off, wanting to rid of any stain left behind by that psycho. 

Jay looked up in the mirror, cursing himself for his shaking shoulders and slight red tint still on his face. He had to do this job, he had to at least try or do something. He didn’t have a choice.    


“Puddin’, you ready ta go-” Jason could practically see Harley’s reaction to the sight before her. How could anyone react to their boyfriend coming out of the bathroom, a smile carved into his face and blood running down his neck? 

“Ta-da!” The Joker’s voice was stomach churning. 

“What, what did ya do?” the woman spoke quietly, evidently attempting to keep her calm. “At least wash up, you’re gonna get it all over your suit!” What a damn good actor. 

“Oh, Harley, always thinking of me,” The Joker chuckled as Jay could hear the faucet turn on. He couldn’t let the man get to him, get inside his mind, let alone break it. And Harley? She’d be okay, she was tougher than anyone could be in their situation, and in that moment Jay vowed to become just as strong. If not, stronger. 

 

~

 

_ Why the fuck did I agree to this,  _ Jason scolded himself as he glanced into an alleyway, eyeing the frustratingly similar car in the back. The boy tugged at his bright red hoodie, realizing how easy it was going to be to get caught without trying to blend in to the shadows. It was actually quite embarrassing, as he was throwing away all knowledge he knew he could use to steal the tires properly. If he was actually allowed to do so, the amount of money he could get from that car would be enough to get him, Roy and Kori out of the shithole that is Gotham. 

No matter what went down, this would be the night that changed Jason Todd’s life. Up until then, he was just a street orphan, Harley and The Joker most certainly not counting as parents. His mother was dead and father imprisoned for life for who knows what reason. The teen wouldn’t be surprised if this was the night they’d reunite as he crouched next to the vehicle, grabbed his wrench and getting to work. At least then he’d get an answer. 

It was suspiciously easy, and Jason began to wonder what kind of setup this could be. A potential trust test? Maybe, but then again, The Joker was so far gone in his brain, Jay wasn’t sure he could even think that far ahead. That is, if the man wasn’t the genius he’d proven himself to be, and it was hard to tell which was more terrifying. 

“Ahem.” A voice directly behind Jason caused him to flinch as he turned around with fear lacing his expression. Fear he hated that he was showing. 

“You do realize this car belongs to one of the richest people in the world, right?”  _ Shit _ . 

The teen pulled himself together the best that he could, resorting to immediate defense. “Duh,” Jason scoffed, ignoring the fact that he was mouthing off who he knew was Bruce Wayne as he threw all caution out the window. At this point Bruce was asking for it, so Jay couldn’t really be blamed. “You do realize that you parked your car in  _ Crime Alley _ … Right?” he mocked. 

Jason knew he should’ve bolted, but instead he wiped the fear from his face and stood up immediately, raising the x-shaped wrench and tightening his grip around it. Jason was a fighter long before he ever learned to fight, evident as he swung the metal, bracing for the impact of the bar against the man’s face when it came to an abrupt stop. 

The man had caught it midair. 

The teen scowled, more than angry at the thought of this douchebag, rich guy, making a fool of him. “Listen, if you wanna beat up on a kid, go enlist in the G.C.P.D. like every other bully in this city,” Jason spat, glaring at Bruce.

The billionaire returned the look, voice low and eerily calm when he spoke. “Someone clearly has some grudges.” The frown on Jay’s face only hardened. “Now, I’m only going to ask you this once. So give me some serious thought to your answer.” 

Jay clenched his teeth. “What?” 

“Are you hungry?”

“...What?” he repeated. The boys “tough guy” demeanor softened ever so slightly at the question. 

“Hungry, son. Are you-”

“Don’t call me your son,” Jay snapped, lowering the wrench by his side. “I’m not some charity case, and I’m not your son.” Bruce held an odd smile on his lips, one that Jason couldn’t seem to process. Here he was, taking the tires off a car worth more than him, and this man was asking if he was hungry? “...But yeah. Yeah, I’m hungry.” This was a bad idea, this was such a bad idea. 

“C’mon.”  _ What the hell is wrong with this guy?  _

The teen raised an eyebrow, nearly laughing at the man’s response. “Are you shitting me?” 

 Bruce scoffed. “What, can a guy not offer help to a child clearly unable to get himself any means of anything?”

“Never said that, I just don’t trust that you’re not gonna throw me in some crummy orphanage and leave me there to rot while plastering on the news that you ‘saved a kid from the alley so you’re some sort of hero.’” Just a little longer, all he had to do was hold out until The Joker…

Until what?

There was no way for them to communicate, for Jason to ever know when the hell he was allowed or supposed to go back to the old apartment. They didn’t know where he was, and even if they did there was no way he was getting a ride back. Not that it was that far or difficult of a walk, but how was he supposed to risk getting back too late or too early? Did they abandon him? Leave him to get arrested while they took the man’s money and left? If they needed some cash they could’ve just robbed a normal bank like usual, so why did they need so much? 

They were leaving. 

And they were leaving him behind. 

The realization sunk in, even if the evidence behind it was lacking in every area. He hesitated. “Fine,” Jay muttered, shoving down the thoughts plaguing his mind. “No point in denying free food. But I’m not just some kid for you to use to get yourself a good rep for helping the poor or some bullshit like that.” 

“Never said I was, and I never planned on doing so.” Bruce’s words were plain and simple, as if it was an obvious truth. Jason slowly crouched back down, tightening the bolts in the tire he’d barely loosened but did so anyways for good measure. If he was getting food out of this, meaning something not made by Harley who even though she tried, couldn’t make to save her life, he wasn’t going to die doing so. Once he stood, Bruce was already in the front seat, starting the car as Jason made his way into the passenger. 

To say this was a car for rich people was an understatement. This car belonged to someone that had the money to end the world with the push of a button. The interior was sleeker than the exterior, and Jason was speechless as he simply looked at the dashboard. 

“Custom made,” Bruce said flatly. 

“You don’t even buy cars like a normal person?” Jay sighed, resting his chin in his palm and looking out the window as they drove out of the alley. 

“I like things made in a way I want them to be,” the man shrugged as if it was nothing. Bruce Wayne really was as insufferable as everyone said he would be. And by everyone, he meant Roy. 

“Ha, right,” he mumbled, closing his eyes and focusing on the nearly silent hum of the car and the sound of other vehicles driving past them. What was he doing? He was technically doing his job but, no matter how famous or rich, Bruce could be some psychotic trafficker or something. 

Not that he didn’t already live with one of those. At least Bruce didn’t have bright green hair and a bleeding smile. Jason didn’t even know if he wanted to do the job, the only reason he agreed to it in the first place was to avoid conflict or getting Harley hurt because he was too stubborn to accept things. In the end, all he wanted was to group up with his friends and get the hell out of Gotham. 

“Got a name? Or do you go by your reputation of stealing things?” 

Jay let out a sharp laugh at the broken silence, barely believing he was having this conversation with a man he just tried to rob minutes ago. “What were you doing in Crime Alley anyways,” he asked, completely ignoring the others question. 

“I have my reasons. Besides, I’ll take a wild guess and assume you don’t actually care. I asked your name so I don’t have to refer to you as ‘the kid that tried to steal my tires’, not an attack on your privacy.” The air fell silent, Jason nearly fuming at the smartass responses he was being given. Even then he couldn’t even be that mad, as they were actual answers and made sense. It was the fact that they made too much sense, as if they were scripted out beforehand. 

“Whatever. My names Jason,” the boy muttered.

“Nice to meet you Jason. Now, I’ll also assume you know who I am,” Bruce spoke as they pulled into a drive-through. A Big Belly Burger drive-through. “Seeing as you’ve managed to break in to or attempt to steal something I own twice now.”

Jason froze at the comment. He opened his mouth to speak when Bruce rolled down the window and began ordering into the speaker as if nothing had happened. He turned to look at the back seat, memories from  _ that night  _ flooding his mind as he blinked. There was no possible way. It literally wasn’t possible. 

“If you really do love that back seat so much, I won’t complain if you sit back there,” Mr. Wayne smiled slightly as he drove forward to the window to pick up the food. “Really, go ahead.” While Jay knew he was being taunted and tempted, more than likely being lured to sit in the back and confirm the man’s suspicions, he craved the comfort of laying down. There certainly wouldn’t be any springs sticking out of that seat, stabbing him in the back and irking him when he woke every single day.  He rubbed a thumb over his soulmark. 

They pulled up to the drive through window, a hand reaching out of it with a large paper bag. “Thank you,” Bruce grinned. The bag now in the car seeped the scent of fast food, something Jay hadn’t had in years. The man placed it in Jason’s lap as he drove back onto the main road. “I’m serious Jason, don’t be afraid to be comfortable.” The hospitality was almost concerning. 

Not that Jay had anything to lose at this point. 

So he quickly crawled into the back, clutching the bag as he leaned his back against the door and placed his legs on the seat. Jason ripped the bag open, pulling out the burger and unwrapping it. The second it was out of the paper he began scarfing it down as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Looking back on it, he barely had. 

“Slow down, you’re going to lose a finger,” Bruce sighed as they continued driving, Jason ignoring him completely. A pause fell over the air as helooked out the window to see them pulling up to a large gate, stopping before the entrance. 

“Where…” And then it hit him. “Ha, funny seeing it from this point of view rather than on a hill trying to work out how to get in. Was gonna case the place a while back, but I got lost.” Jason sat up straight, looking away when Bruce turned around to face him. 

“Why do you think it’s okay to steal from other people?” 

“Are you kidding me?” Jason nearly choked on a large chunk of food before swallowing it down. “Who in my situation  _ doesn’t _ steal? People like you, thinking they’re king of the world, couldn’t care less about what people like  _ me  _ have to do to survive.”

Bruce turned back around in his seat, eyeing the teen in the rearview mirror. “Sometimes you just have to give people a chance, Jason. They’ll usually surprise you.” 

This truly was the night that was going to change Jason Todd’s life, and for once? He was willing to see where it was going. Even if he vowed to never admit it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it doesn't feel like a soulmate AU right now, but it will when Dick is actually in the story (next chapter, don't worry.) That's when the story really picks up so, looking forward to that. Anyways, I got a LOT of the Jason and Bruce scene from "Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth" plus some small cameos from the original comics. Oh yeah, shoutout to my friend for the endless support since I let him read this, (you know who you are) and who's given me so much confidence and motivation to keep on writing. Hopefully the chapter is as good as you were hoping for :)  
> -Dean


	3. "We Were Gold"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to yet again another chapter! Wow this was the fastest I've ever written ten pages (how long each chapter is) and actually be super proud of the result?  
> Warnings: Very brief mentions of abuse  
> Please enjoy, I had a ton of fun writing this one :)

The fact that Jason Todd was willing to just accept an invitation into Bruce Wayne’s house baffled even himself. The entire drive up the unnecessarily long road to the place was full of the boys mind yelling at him to jump out of the car and run. But every one of those thoughts was contradicted with the knowledge that Joker would more than likely beat him to a pulp if the heist was unsuccessful. Even if it was never Jason’s fault, the man needed someone to take it out on, and Harley was becoming resilient to the torment and beating. She was still terrified of him, but as time went on she became scarily good at hiding every flinch and panic that used to shine in her eyes. One time, she even grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened to “expand the smile on his face.” 

Jason was the new punching bag since then. Harley felt shit for it but the teen refused to let her take the abuse any longer, afterall, she’d been enduring it way longer than he ever had. 

“Why are you even bringing me back to your, your,” Jason sighed as he struggled to find the right words. It was a mansion, yes, but it looked like the size of a castle at this point. No “house” had the right to be this big. 

“Home, Jason. It’s called a home,” Bruce spoke near monotonically, eyes fixed on the road. “But to answer your question, it’s never my first response, to a child stealing car tires, so obviously hungry and scared, to call someone to take them away. I see myself in you in many ways, and the fact that you got in the car at all shows that you need help.”

Jay sat frozen in his seat, not knowing what to feel at the man’s words. He certainly didn’t want to admit that he was right, instead his throat begging to spill words of accusation for using him to up his reputation. Even Jason knew that Bruce had some sort of knack for adopting kids with sob stories and he was built up as some savior to street kids or something. Jason, Roy and Kori all vowed to never become a charity case to anyone, and he wasn’t planning on breaking that vow any time soon. 

“You can voice your opinion, you know,” the millionaire said, turning into a driveway in the front of the house. “I can tell you’re keeping your mouth shut, and you certainly don’t seem the type to-”

“Will you stop analyzing me?” Jay snapped, furrowing his eyebrows and refusing to gawk at the “house” before him. “Again, I’m here for the free food. No point in denying that shit. It’s easier than stealing.” 

Bruce simply nodded in response, getting out of the car as Jason did the same. The two walked up to a pair of large front doors, opening before either reached for the handle. 

“Master Bruce, returned from-” an older man with a very posh accent stood at the door, holding it open. He wore a suit, looking like a stereotypical butler if you asked anyone. “I see you’ve brought a guest?” 

“Yes, Alfred this is Jason, Jason, this is Alfred. He’s our butler.” 

Obviously. 

Jason had no intent on shaking the man's hand, let alone make eye contact or talk to him. But before he knew it his hand was in the others, a firm grip around his palm. 

“Please to meet you, Master Jason.” 

“Jason. Just Jason,” the teen muttered, pulling his hand back and shoving it in his pocket. There was no way he was going to be addressed as  _ master  _ by some rich guys butler. He half expected Alfred to scold him for lack of manners or something of the sort, but he simply nodded and opened the door further for the two to step in. Jason nearly scoffed at the action. 

Bruce walked in first, handing Alfred his coat and muttering something lowly before walking down a hallway out of view. Meanwhile, Jay kept his hands in the pockets of his bright red hoodie. Sure it had some dirt, a couple stains he didn’t know existed and such, but he couldn’t care less at this point. It wasn’t like he was planning to stay any longer than he needed to. And by that he meant dinner. 

“Shoes? Jason?” Alfred questioned behind him, and it was only then when the teen realized how messy they were, mud dragging on the rug. 

“Right, sorry,” he murmured. As much as it pained him to obey someone he’d never met, especially the butler of Bruce Wayne, he took his shoes off and placed them near the front door anyways. At least the guy was earning his money. 

“Thank you, Sir. Mr. Wayne has some business to attend to in his study and I have to prepare dinner,” Alfred explained. “I’ll have the boys come down and show you around.” It seemed like Jason didn’t have a choice in the matter, so he shrugged and crossed his arms without protest; Despite how desperately he didn’t want to meet Bruce Wayne’s reputation holders. 

It took a few minutes of standing awkwardly in the entryway of a mansion, which usually he’d take it to his advantage and stuff his pockets with things to sell but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do it. Jay knew he’d get caught, and if anything he didn’t want to upset Alfred for some odd reason. He’d end up just feeling bad for the old man. 

A loud pair of footsteps came running down the stairs directly across the main room from Jason, causing his gaze to jerk up and see two figures chasing after each other. Oh great. 

“Get back here or I swear to God I’ll throw you out a window!” 

“Tt, the fact that you think you can achieve such is amusing, Drake,” a much younger voice called back to the original insult. “Besides, the proper term is ‘defenestrate.’”

“I know what the ‘proper term’ is! Just give it back you little, ugh!” Jason noticed a boy not too shorter than himself running after what looked like a child clinging to a laptop. The taller had black hair that fell over the sides of his face, parted down the middle yet somehow managing to look good. The younger had just as dark hair, however it was cut short and spiked up in a much more modern look. The two sprinted until coming right up to Jason, who raised an eyebrow at the sight. 

“Oh, hey you’re the guy Alfred was talking about,” the older panted, still grabbing at the boy. “Sorry about this, Damian can be quite the brat in case you haven’t noticed,” he spoke through clenched teeth. He wore blue jeans and a red button up, a good choice in color. 

“Ha,  _ I apologize  _ for my brother’s inability to get off his laptop and get some sleep when he clearly is not functioning as a human being,” Damian scoffed. The younger wore black jeans instead of his brothers blue, and a baggy green sweater. 

“I’m right here,” the taller sighed.   
“An annoyance we are all aware of, Drake.” 

“Drake?” Jason finally spoke up, catching the direct attention of the two. It wasn’t his fault the name sounded weird, stupid even. 

“Last name,” the boy rolled his eyes, “first is Tim. Nice ta meet you.” 

“Oh,” Jay nodded, hands refusing to move. “Jason Todd.”

“Tt, sounds like a name from right off the streets. Look like one too- ow!”

Tim elbowed Damian in the ribs, causing him to drop the laptop as Tim caught it before it hit the ground. “Are you seriously this big of an asshole to people Alfred told us to ‘treat with respect?’” the teen scolded. 

Damian simply rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and looking Jason up and down. “What? It is far from my fault that he seemingly cannot wash his clothes.”  
“I wasn’t exactly dressing to meet a rich prick,” Jay spat, glaring at the demon spawn before him. This was unexpected, way more so than he cared to admit. 

“I suggest you shut up, street rat,” Damian snapped, clenching his fists and attempting to seem taller than he was. Which was about half Jason’s size. 

“Damian will you stop being a dick?” Tim groaned, ruffling the boys hair and shoving his head to the side. 

“Speaking of!” A voice called from above them, causing the three to turn their gaze to the balcony. Standing at the top, arms resting on the railing and leaning over, was another boy with pitch black hair and bright eyes. He looked a little older than Jason, that was for sure, and he was just as built which caused a series of questions on how to rush through Jay’s mind. “Alfred just came up and told me we’re having someone over for dinner?” 

“Yeah,” Tim called up, turning back to glare at Damian. “And this dumb bird thought it was in his best interest to start being and asshole.”

“Will you mind your language Drake, as it clearly isn’t respectful enough for Todd to handle,” the boy mocked. 

“Damian, tone it down,” the boy at the top of the stairs chuckled, moving to come down. Jason was seriously contemplating just leaving, turning around and going back to whatever fate he held at the apartment. But it was the way the older came down the stairs that cause Jay to freeze in place. 

He stood on the banister, sliding down with socks on his feet and doing a  _ flip  _ off the end and landing perfectly, walking over to the group as if nothing happened. 

“Show off,” Tim scoffed under his breath, rolling his eyes and holding onto his laptop under his arm.   
“Dick,” the boy gleamed, bright blue eyes piercing Jason’s as he held an arm out to shake. 

Jay nearly reached out in return when his shield came back up immediately, all he could muster up being, “your name is Dick?”  

“Richard, actually,” Dick laughed. “Immigrant parents, they were a little behind on suiting names in America.” Jay wouldn’t let himself admit how pretty the teen before him was, his hair curling at the ends and loose strands falling over his forehead. They graced his lashes and caused his eyes to stand out even more. Because that was somehow possible. 

“I’m going to go see if Alfred needs any help in the kitchen, you two can worry about showing this knock-off-Grayson around the house,” Damian announced, unfolding his arms and walking away from the trio. 

“Damian- oh forget it,” Dick sighed, looking back to Jason. “I’m really sorry about him, he’s just, not really good with strangers.” 

Jay shrugged, rubbing his soulmark absentmindedly in his pocket. “Whatever.” 

“Do you mind taking the job?” Tim spoke up, eyes pleading as he hugged the laptop against his chest as if it were a child. “I have an essay I need to get done and-”

“Wasn’t that assigned yesterday?” Dick placed his hands on his hips, voice accusing in tone. 

“Well, yeah-”

“And doesn’t your teacher usually give you, oh I don’t know, two weeks to write an essay?” Tim was clearly guilty of trying to overwork himself. It was obvious that each of them had a distinct personality, and at first glance it was easy to distinguish them. Tim was a workaholic, Damian was a demon, and Dick was the responsible older brother. 

Plain and simple. 

“Look, if you don’t wanna show me around, cool, I couldn’t care less,” Jason spoke up, pulling his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms. “Got a TV and I can keep myself occupied.” 

A flash of guilt crossed the boys face as he pressed his lips together, looking up to Richard as if expecting him to tell him what to do. Jay nearly laughed at the exchange, his thought of Dick being the responsible brother being confirmed. “The essay can wait,” Tim sighed, and Jason was almost impressed at the willpower to stay down and show a dirty stranger around their mansion. Dick gleamed at the others decision, nodding and turning back to Jay.

“Well then, where to begin?”

 

~

 

It was safe to say that Jason was brain-dead by the end of the house tour. Even Tim had gotten so bored that he disappeared to his room about halfway through. He was still using “house” as a loose term, instead growing to use, “castle” as a way to describe the place. Jay had no idea how to feel about it, on one hand he was glad at least some kids with fucked up lives got the best of the best, while on the other hand he didn’t feel like a single one of them earned it. And even then he was still convinced that he was being used to improve the Wayne image. Jason could practically see the headline: “Street Rat Saved from an Abusive Household by THE Bruce Wayne!”

It was a sickening thought. 

“And finally,” Dick announced, somehow still as energetic as when they began, “the kitchen.” Jason could feel his jaw physically drop at the sight. They’d gone through what looked like a pair of doors in a restaurant, which should’ve been some sort of indication that the room would look like a gourmet kitchen. Jay couldn’t hide his sheer awe and near excitement towards the room, and he didn’t even notice Dick smiling brightly behind him. Alfred came out from behind a bunch of shelves, removing an apron and hanging it up on a hook on the wall. 

“Ah, Master Dick, I see you’ve brought Jason to see the kitchen?” The Butler smiled softly. 

“Yup, it’s our last stop in the official Wayne House Tour,” Richard nodded, leaning against a countertop. 

“Are you positive you didn’t miss any rooms? We’ve got quite the amount according to the last time I counted.” Dick furrowed his eyebrows, tracing the rooms they’d looked at as he tried to remember. 

“Yep, that’s all of them.” He was speaking too fast for that to be true. 

Despite the fact that Jason didn’t care, he knew they’d avoided an entire hallway on the second floor. “What about that one hall on the left upstairs?” He wasn’t asking because he cared, because he didn’t. 

Dick froze up, obviously very bad at hiding emotions and being an even worse liar. At least to Jason, who’d grown to rely on reading people and picking up on any movement just to analyze it. It’s what helped him keep from getting caught for the past few years, and he’d grown to be really good at it. Scarily so. “Oh, right, shit I forgot,” Dick chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and causing his shirt to ride up ever so slightly. 

Jason didn’t mean for his eyes to dart down to the boys hips, that was certainly not intentional. It was the string of words written on his skin that caused him to stare for a second too long. A second that Dick noticed.

“My soulmark,” he said, completely unphased. Jason was baffled that anyone could just flaunt their soulmark, something so personal and delicate. He’d never shown his to anyone willingly except for Roy, and he’d even gone to the extent of borrowing Harley’s makeup to cover it up when in public. It was his mark, his lyric,  _ his  _ soulmate. How could anyone be so open about it? “Shame it’s on my hip though,” Dick continued, “no one can see it and it’s pretty awkward lifting my shirt up and pulling my pants down even a little just to show people.” The teen pulled up his shirt, his sweatpants already riding down ever so slightly.

Unbelievable.

“Every time I get up to show someone they start flipping out cause they think I’m just gonna start taking my clothes off,” he laughed, brushing his hair back. Jason chuckled, very forced that is, as he looked back to the mark. The font was far from pretty, it wasn’t cursive or anything fancy. In fact, it looked like sloppy handwriting. Not too sloppy to illegible, but it certainly wasn’t perfect. “‘Tattooed on my heart is a bandage,’” Richard read, smiling softly as he ran a thumb over the mark before pulling his shirt back down. “Where’s yours?”  _ Does this guy ever stop talking?  _

“Don’t have one,” Jason muttered, once again shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away. 

“Master Richard, will you help me bring the food to the table?” Jason silently thanked Alfred for changing the conversation before Dick could pry. 

“Yeah, of course,” the older nodded, turning back to Jason. “You can go to the dining room Jay, Tim and Damian should be sitting already.” Before Jason could retaliate, let alone snap at the nickname, Dick was pushing him out of the kitchen and into the dining room. 

Jason stepped out to be greeted by the sight of an overly long table, Tim and Damian being the only ones sitting there. And for some reason, they were on opposite ends. Jay walked over, refusing to make eye contact with either of them as he sat dead in the middle. He didn’t particularly want to sit directly in front of either of the boys, let alone be there in the first place, but this was the first actual meal he’d get and it would probably be his last. After this it was back to dinner scraps and cold fries. 

Tim on one side was typing away on his phone, presumably texting someone but who really knew at this point. And Damian, well, Damian was resting his head in his arm on the table while the other hand pet a cat sleeping on the surface. “His name is Pennyworth,” Damian sighed, sensing Jason’s stares. “And yes, I am allowed to have pets at the table as it seems they are the only civilized beings in this house.” 

Jason scoffed, the words coming from such a child’s mouth nearly surprising. “Does it look like I care what your cats name is?” 

“You were staring at him, so I assumed that you had some sort of interest in what I was doing. If not, you have just confirmed that you’re a creeper that Father pulled from the street,” Damian muttered without looking up as his hand continued running along the cats fur. 

“Damian, do you have any sense of what could hurt people’s feelings-”

“I really don’t care” Jason interrupted Tim, practically fed up with being defended because of a child. “If Demon Spawn wants to assume I’m a dumbass, cool, let him. At least I’m not best friends with a cat.” 

At that, Damian sat up immediately as his expression hardened. “Insult Pennyworth and I’ll rip out your intestines.” 

“Jason-”  
“No, it’s fine, Tim. I’ll like to see the little brat try,” Jay smirked, staring the kid down. 

“Don’t doubt my ability to make your life absolute and utter hell,” Damian spat, sitting up and slamming his hands on the table.   
“And you shouldn’t doubt my ability to kick your ass!” Jason didn’t mean to raise his voice so much, and this certainly wasn’t what he expected to happen when he got into Bruce Wayne’s car. He’d almost completely forgotten about the Joker and what he’d have to deal with later that night when he went back. 

“Prove it, Street Rat!” Damian yelled, standing  _ on the table  _ and holding a butter knife like a dagger. 

So of course Jason mimicked his actions. “Come at me, you failed abort-”

“Damian, Jason, stop!” A voice yelled as it entered the room, causing both boys to freeze and snap their gaze to a very, angry Dick Grayson. 

“...I’d like to make my statement that Todd insulted Pennyworth and threatened me before I made any moves-”

“Bullshit!”

“I would like to point out that I had no part in this, Dick,”

“You did, Todd! I was just trying to inform you about my pet!”

“And you pulled a fucking butterknife on me-”

“I tried to stop them, I really did-”

“And  _ you  _ were going to call me a failed abortion!”

“I literally wasn’t-”

“It sounded like it, Jason-”  
“Shut up Tim!” the two screamed in unison.

“Sorry I was trying to stop you guys from tearing each other apart-”

“Oh there you go, acting like a savior in a fight you weren’t a part of-”

“For once, I agree with Todd, even though he resembles a human dumpster-”

“Shut the fuck up you tiny brat-”

“Can both of you stop before Bruce gets down here?”

“Tt, Father isn’t coming, when was the last time he had dinner with us?”

“I don’t blame him, not with you as a son-”

“All of you, shut it!” Dick’s yell broke through the mess of screams, a heavy silence falling over the dining room. “Damian, sit down and put the knife away. Jason, act your age and get off the goddamn table. He’s 11, and I don’t think it would be very pretty to get your ass handed to you by a child.”

“You’re acting like he would’ve won-”

“Ha! Eat it, Todd!”

“Oh can it, Demon Spawn-”

“Stop it! Both of you,” Dick yelled once more, crossing his arms and glaring daggers at the child. Damian’s eyes widened slightly before he took his seat immediately, Dick clearly being the only one that could get Damian to do shit. The four sat in complete and utter silence, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. 

That’s when Dick started laughing, light giggles at first but they soon turned in to flat out laughter within seconds. Tim quickly followed, putting his phone down and covering his mouth as he laughed. 

The two were practically wheezing while Jason and Damian just stared at each other, expressions softened from earlier when the kid snorted out a laugh of his own. 

That was all it took for Jason to burst out as well, doubling over as he gasped for air through his own laughs. Alfred came out with two large platters on his arms, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the four cackling at who knows what. Even Damian had let loose as he wiped a tear from his eye and choked on his own air. 

That just made them all laugh even harder. Even Alfred let out a light chuckle as he placed the covered plates on the table. Dick had moved to sit a seat away from Jason, Tim moving as well and sitting a couple chairs from Damian. The laughter began to die down, Dick’s shoulders still shaking a bit as he giggled. A beautiful sound that definitely didn’t cause Jason’s stomach to churn whatsoever.

After the commotion had died down, Jason had time to actually pay attention to the smell coming from the platter, something so familiar it twisted his heart in his chest. Something that shouldn’t affect him so much but for some reason it was, and he couldn’t figure out why. 

“Now that you boys are acting like civilized people, perhaps you can keep it that way throughout dinner?” Alfred smiled, leaning over to lift the covers as the four nodded. “Good, then, enjoy supper.” He lifted the dome of metal and on the first platter sat four bowls of chili, along with bread and butter on the second.  _ Oh. _

Everyone grabbed a bowl, Damian taking a distinctly different one that seemingly had no meat in it whatsoever. Of course he didn’t eat meat. 

“Alfred makes the best chili on the planet, you came on the right night,” Tim said, his mouth already full of food as he shoved it down his throat. 

“You’re acting like you haven’t eaten in days,” Dick smiled, rolling his eyes. 

Damian scoffed, sitting straight in his chair and eating the food way too proper for a kid. “Knowing Drake, he hasn’t. At least, nothing aside from coffee.” 

“In my defense,” Tim mumbled through bites, “I’m taking three college courses as a sophomore so-”

“We get it, we get it,” Dick chuckled, “ you’re a genius.” The man looked over to Jason, who was sitting silently and rubbing his wrist. Worry flashed over the older’s gaze as he glanced at Jay’s arm, refusing to assume the worst. “You hungry, Jay?” 

“What?” Jason flinched at the name. “Yeah, sorry I got lost in thought.” The boy reached over, grabbing his own bowl and eyeing it for a second before taking a bite. His face lit up and fell at the same time, Dick forcing himself to look away as to keep from prying. Jay tugged his sleeve over his hand a bit before continuing to eat, ending up shoveling the food in his mouth as fast as Tim at this point. In fact, he’d eaten the entire thing before the fifteen year old had. The three gaped at him, Damian not hiding his shock at whatever it was he’d just witnessed. 

“How homeless were you?” the kid asked, receiving a light punch on the arm from Tim and a glare from Dick. 

But Jason let out a sharp laugh, reaching over to grab half a loaf of a baguette sitting on the platter, simply biting into it. “Not homeless, surprisingly.” 

“Poor- will you quit it?” Damian snapped as he received another hit. “They’re perfectly valid questions. He could just be taking advantage of us, maybe he stole something already.” 

“If I wanted to steal from you guys, I would be outside, right now, selling it to some street thug,” Jay shrugged as if it was nothing. Dick tensed at the boys words. They all did. “And of course I’m taking advantage of your food, it’s food, a human necessity to survive?” 

The three just stared, even Damian was left speechless. 

“Have you never met someone that doesn’t eat dinner every night?” 

No response. 

Jason sat up in his seat, putting the now almost finished piece of bread on the table, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie. “Course you haven’t. Don’t know why I expected you to-”

“I do,” Dick spoke up, shifting the attention to him. “A friend, a really good friend actually.”

“How do I not know of this, ‘friend’?” Damian demanded, eyebrows furrowing. 

“Don’t feel excluded Dami, none of you do. She’s a good person, she really is,” Dick continued, a sad look falling over his eyes. “Don’t you guys worry about it, I’m not about to hog up Jason talking about his past-”

“I’m not planning on telling you guys shit,” Jason muttered, sitting back and crossing his arms. “Besides, it’s not like I’m staying very long.”  
“When are you leaving?” Tim asked, voice smaller than it should’ve been. 

“Uh, tonight?” Jason looked up. 

“Thank God,” Damian said contently, going back to eating his food. 

“See? No harm done,” the teen shrugged. 

Dick turned to focus his gaze on the other, an eyebrow raising slightly in concern. “Why not stay? The night that is.” Jason stared back. “I mean, it’s late, and we’re in Gotham.”

“I can handle myself,” Jay snapped. 

“I never said you couldn’t, I just mean, no point in risking it and giving up a night in a comfortable bed is all.” The two sat staring at each other, Damian officially out of the conversation and Tim processing the situation. 

Jason was as well, biting his bottom lip as he looked down. There wasn’t any point in staying aside from hiding from the Joker a bit longer. Then again, coming back a whole day later would result in a much harsher punishment.  _ Much harsher _ , he shuddered at the thought, a crowbar colliding with his stomach almost real in the moment. 

“Jason?” 

“Hm? Sorry, sorry just thinking.” He paused. “It’s not like Bruce would invite me to stay any longer. All he did was give me some food cause I tried to steal his tires-”

Damian spat out his water at the comment, some of the spray getting on Dick and causing him to frown before turning back to the boy in the red hoodie. “Jason, I’m sure he’d let you if you simply asked. I mean, he took in us three for life, who’s to say he’s gonna care if you stay a night?” Dick had a point, but the thought of a crowbar flashing behind the teen’s eyes kept him refusing the offer. 

“No, no it’s fine, I don’t need your pity,” Jay retaliated sharply, standing from the table and taking one last look at the group before heading out of the dining room. He could hear who he could only assume was Dick following him as he found his way through the maze of halls and corridors, thankful for the maze of Gotham for once in his life. 

Jason grabbed his shoes, sitting down to slide them on. “I’m fine Dickhead, really.”

“Are you sure? Because you seem terrified-”  
“Stop pretending like you know me!  
“I’m not, but if you’d just let me help-”

“I don’t need your help!”

“Clearly you do! Why don’t you just stay a night and leave in the morning? You don’t even have to say goodbye!” 

Jason stood, not caring to tie his laces. “Will you stop pretending to want me here? You’ve only known me for a couple hours and even then you know nothing about me!” 

“Because all you do is reflect any question about you, Jay!”

“Will you stop calling me that?!” Jason screamed, fists clenching as he took a step back. He took the moment to truly look at Dick, to notice the stupid pajama pants with smiley faces on them and taking time to read the worn grey t-shirt, fading blue print saying “Young Justice Gymnastics.” 

“I never said dinner was all you were welcome to, Jason.” The two shot their eyes behind Dick, Bruce’s large form standing before them. “You’re more than welcome to stay a night if you need. I’m sure Crime Alley isn’t worth the at least hour of walking in the night of Gotham City.” 

What the hell was Jason supposed to say to that?  _ Oh yeah, the real reason I can’t go back is because I could literally get killed for being late and I’d rather get it over with instead of waiting and increasing the punishment!  _ “I, I can’t, okay?” 

“Jason, I’m serious. Stay the night.” 

How was he supposed to refuse that? He didn’t know his way out of the manors gates, and he’d never been in this part of Gotham. He literally couldn’t get home. 

“You can sleep on the couch if you really want to-”

“Okay,” Jason caved in, muscles relaxing as he looked up at Bruce. “Fine. I’ll stay. But just this one night.” 

Mr. Wayne nodded, a smile sitting gently on his face. “Thank you. Dick, show him to the guest room.” 

“Sure, of course,” Dick nodded as Bruce made his way upstairs. The taller turned back to Jason, who was cursing the universe for giving the other such eyes. How could any human being have such  _ blue eyes?  _ “C’mon, unless you’re still hungry.”

“I’m good.” For one, Jason was completely full. He probably shouldn’t have eaten so fast, as his stomach was smaller than it was supposed to be and he was for sure going to get sick because of it. He prayed to not throw up that night. 

“Alright, let’s go then.” Dick’s voice was low and gentle, completely contradicting his yells from earlier. It was almost as if his tone of voice was apologizing for yelling, as when he began rambling about how all Tim did was drink coffee as they walked upstairs, his voice remained almost a whisper. How could someone apologize through the volume of their words?

“Here we are,” they finally stopped, Dick opening a dark wooden door and leading the other inside. “Ta-da! The dressers have clothes and pajamas in case you wanna change. Which you should by the way. I’m sorry Jason, but you smell.”

Jay was going to retaliate when he took a minute to actually pay attention to how he smelled, which was bad, really bad. He was surprised no one had thrown him out at this point. 

“There’s a bathroom over there, all your own so don’t worry about being walked in on. I don’t know if you’re a morning or night shower person but don’t worry about waking anyone up, the rooms are decently sound proofed.” That was good, nightmares wouldn’t bother anyone. “And uh, this room has the best view in the house.” Jason just nodded, muttering a thank you before going to the dresser. 

“...See ya tomorrow, Jason.” And with that Dick was gone, the door closing softly behind him and leaving him in the near dark. The only source of light was a small lamp next to the bed, a lamp shaped like the moon and glowing a soft orange. Jay would take it if it wasn’t going to get destroyed the second the Joker saw it. Shame, the color was calming. 

Jason chose a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tshirt, throwing his hoodie to the ground and flopping onto the bed. And oh God, was it a comfortable bed. 

“He’s staying in this one.” Jay would’ve fallen asleep on impact of the mattress if it wasn’t for the voices echoing outside the door. 

“Is he doing okay?” 

“It seems like it… Bruce, I think you should let him stay longer.”  
“How long are you talking?”

“As long as he can? I know, I know you already have three kids and Damian has a bunch of pets but, what’s the point in having all this space and money if we can’t use it to help people?”

“Dick, you can’t possibly expect me to help every kid I find on the streets-”

“So why didn’t you hesitate at the sight of him?” 

“We’ve seen him once before, and I didn’t save him then. Seeing him a second time? It’s another chance, Richard. To make things right.” 

“...the boy from, what, three years ago? That’s him?”

A pause.

“I thought he looked familiar but… Jesus, what did the world do to him in just three years?” 

“I don’t know, Dick, but I didn’t want to leave him a second longer… I’ll think about a more long term solution, okay?”

“...Okay.”

Another pause. 

“Do you think he’d like it here?”

“Haha, I mean, I chose the room I thought he’d like, the one with a lot of space stuff?” 

“How do you know he likes astrology?”

“I don’t,” a light chuckle. “I’m good at reading people Bruce, and I think, he likes the stars.” 

The stars… he did like the stars. And thus, the world went black. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the end of that! I adore writing interactions between the batboys, I just hope to God I kept everyone in character, and if not I hope it wasn't super obvious. It's currently 1 am so hopefully the typos aren't too bad. I read this three times over to myself so I think I caught everything but I might be wrong. Anyways, as always, constructive criticism is very much welcomed, don't be afraid to comment, and any support whatsoever is immensely appreciated! The comments and kudos on this has kept me mega motivated to get this up. Thanks so much!  
> -Dean


	4. Bread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes this chapter is called bread.   
> Cause apparently bread and Jason is a big thing in the fandom and I found that out after writing this???? Sorry if this is more of a filler, I meant it when I said this would be a slow burn.  
> Warnings: Description of vomiting and almost passing out.

Jason sat up in a cold sweat, too much of a cliche as he woke to his stomach churning and throat seizing. He hated throwing up, with every fiber of his being. So when he bolted out of the bed and lurched over the toilet, vomit forcing its way up, he started tearing up much to his dismay. The teen had an immense embarrassment for his near phobia of puking, Jay associating the action with drug addiction and shoving his fingers down his mother’s throat when it wasn’t heroin in her arm.

Jason coughed up the last of the food and liquid from his stomach, falling back against the wall and breathing heavily as he closed his eyes. He knew he was going to get sick, as eating that fast with practically nothing in your system was a number one rule of living on the streets of Crime Alley. And yet last night he allowed himself to eat more food that he’d ever remembered having, faster than he’d ever eaten anything. Was it last night? Jay looked around the bathroom, hoping they were rich enough to have a digital clock in their bathroom.

Of course they were. 

The time read three thirty-two in the morning and the first thing that went through his mind was to run, to get out of the house and find Roy so they could just leave. Dick had said if he wanted to leave without saying goodbye, he could. So why was he so hesitant to do so? 

Bile began seeping its way back up Jason’s throat, threatening to escape as paranoia forced him to lean over the toilet once more. The boy gagged, shoving it down and swallowing despite the godawful taste sitting in his mouth and between his teeth. The texture was the worst part, mixing with the acidic taste of it all topped it off as one of his least favorite experiences. In fact, it was why he refused to eat apple sauce.

Jay lifted his head, eyeing the door and wiping his mouth with a bare arm, looking away from the toilet before flushing it. It smelled terrible, and he could still taste it in his mouth.  _ Fuck this, _ he groaned, thinking to himself. Jason stood up, making his way out of the bathroom and walking to the door leading out of the unnecessarily big bedroom. He turned the doorknob, as slow and as quiet as he possibly could. Well, if he needed to be quiet at all. Despite the places old appearance, everything on the inside looked way too new. The door didn’t creak at all, not even as the teen pulled it open as a slow pace. On top of that, the halls had carpet. They were making this way too easy for him. 

Jason poked his head out of the doorway, looking down both sides of the halls as his mind immediately began going through the path leading to the kitchen. A series of “turn left here, right, left, forward, down the stairs, more lefts” rushed through his head. The boy crept through the dark hallways, grateful for having grown used to navigating in the dark throughout his time with the Joker. It was much easier to get through, considering this was just a large house, but even then he nearly made a wrong turn a couple times. 

Finally the kitchen doors were in view, large and gleaming in moonlight that shone through a large window. Jay held onto his wrist, thumb rubbing his soulmark as he pushed the door open carefully and stepped onto cold tile with bare feet. He shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature, but the feeling barely lasted as the boy was a very warm person. He never noticed it until one day he and Roy were sleeping and the redhead complained about Jason being a “heater at the temperature of the sun.” 

Jay turned on one of the lights, or at least thought that’s what he was going to do, as when he flipped the switch on the wall every single light beamed and nearly blinded him with the sudden change. “Getting a late-night meal, Master Jason?” An accented voice caused him to jump, jerking his gaze across the room to see the butler with a mop in hand.

“Jesus fucking Christ-”

“Language.” 

Jason paused, “right… whatever. What are you doing down here at nearly four am?” 

Alfred raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the mop he held, “my job. What are  _ you  _ doing down here at nearly four in the morning?”

“I, well,” Jay clenched his fists by his sides. “I got hungry. Is that a crime?” 

“No,” the englishman spoke as he placed the mop against the wall. “If you need something to eat, all you have to do is ask.”

“How am I supposed to just, find you and ask for food this early in the morning? Ha, do you guys have some type of room service, phone shit?”

A pause. 

“Oh my god, you do.”

“But of course,” Alfred said as he made his way to a large refrigerator against the wall. “We installed a phone system in each room when Master Dick moved in.”

Jason creased his brows, wondering why the hell they needed phones in every room because of Dick. He’d read the newspapers when he was little, every article about how Bruce took in some circus orphan after his parents died when he was nine. Jason was seven at the time. Why would they need a phone system for nine year old? Unless the boy got nightmares, seeing his parents deaths over and over again every time he closed his eyes. Seeing the look on his mother’s face, hyperventilating at the thought of seeing them again. His mother on the bathroom floor, eyes dead and skin grey, her body limp and-

“I asked what you would like to eat, Sir?” 

Jason snapped back into reality, sure that his whole body had physically twitched as he furrowed his eyebrows. “Will you stop calling me, ‘sir’? And I don’t really care what I eat, as long as it isn’t apple sauce or something.” The thought nearly made him gag as he pictured sitting on the bathroom floor just ten minutes ago. 

“Ah, just like Tim,” Alfred nodded, pulling out countless ingredients from the refrigerator and cabinets. “He dislikes the texture, says it feels like vomit. I understand.”

Jay opened his mouth to agree, somehow wanting to spill a secret he held to himself. He’d already zoned out, his mother’s image sneaking behind his eyes. He didn’t need to think of her again. So he shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. 

“What’re you making?” Jay asked, craving to change the subject. 

“I’ll be teaching you how to make bread,” the man answered nonchalantly, as if it was a daily activity to make bread from scratch in the Wayne household. “Grab two and one fourth cups of water and warm it on the stove,” Alfred nodded to a measuring cup on the counter, not giving Jason time to decline the offer. “Don’t let it boil, just warm it.” 

“How am I supposed to know when it’s just warm?” Jay scoffed, filling the measuring cup to the exact number he’d been told. 

“Thermometer, Master Jason. In time you’ll be able to tell, but until then, utilize the tools you have,” the butler spoke, turning back to a cabinet and pulling out a bag of flour. Jay looked around, hesitant to open any drawers as for once in his life he was hesitant to go through someone’s stuff. He’d broken into many houses, gone through Harley’s and the Joker’s shit more time than he could count, so the concept of not wanting to violate Alfred kitchen was baffling to even him. “Drawer to the left.” 

Jason nodded, opening the drawer and pulling out a digital thermometer and placing it in a pot before pouring the water in. He placed the water on the stove, turning it on and watching a burst of fire appear below the metal as he brought it down. Jay would never admit to anyone how focused he was as he watched the thermometer slowly climb in temperature, the number clicking up slowly. The teen loved the concept of baking and cooking, and was more than willing to try back home so his mom wouldn’t have to. But he didn’t exactly have anyone reliable enough to teach him. Kori was pretty good at it, but she wasn’t around as much. 

“Done,” Jason announced, turning the stove off and taking the pot to pour the water into a large bowl Alfred had set beside him. 

“Wonderful, now, measure out the rest of the ingredients,” the man smiled gently, gesturing to the set up he’d made on the island. Rows of measuring spoons, cups and ingredients sat staring Jason down, the teen raising an eyebrow before looking back up to the butler. “Pay attention, and remember: a quarter ounce of yeast, three tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of salt, two tablespoons of canola oil, and six and a quarter cup of flour. Again, it’s-”

“Got it,” Jay interrupted, numbers already engraved into his mind. Remembering things and orders was far from difficult, as the teen had spent his whole life relying on his memory. Whether it was how to get to Roy’s or how to load pistols quickly and shoot two at a time, he could remember the exact steps. Jason leaned over the island, measuring the ingredients exactly in different bowls with a determined look coating his expression that he didn’t even realize was there. 

So focused that he didn’t notice Alfred check his phone and head out of the kitchen. Not that he needed the old man, baking was simple science, and he refused to let lack of instruction keep him from doing something right. Jason poured the yeast, sugar, salt, and oil into the bowl of water, adding flour slowly and carefully as he whisked it. The dough got to a point where it was solid to pick up, the teen coating his hands with flour before taking it out of the bowl. He may never have learned how to properly cook, but he knew basics. Like to put flour on the table before kneading the dough or else it would stick. And he certainly didn’t want to make Alfred work any longer than he had to. 

Not because he cared about him. Obviously. 

Jason figured that kneading it too much would just make it tough, but keeping it sticky and as gross as it felt wouldn’t be it, so an elastic consistency would have to do.     

He’d been stretching it and kneading it for about nine minutes, which seemed like enough in his book. Jay looked around for another bowl, seeing a glass one that Alfred must have left out. The teen knew he had to let it sit instead of just shoving it in the oven, something about letting the starch in the flour absorb the liquids as the air bubbles worked their way out of it. Jay scoured through drawers and cupboards, finding seran wrap and grease after a few minutes. He greased the bowl, putting the dough inside and covering it with the seran wrap. Jason placed the covered bowl on the counter against the wall, wiping his forehead with his arm to avoid getting flour on his face. 

“Relax your face, Jason, or it’ll get stuck like that.” 

That wasn’t Alfred. 

The boy turned around, a tall figure leaning against the wall next to the door with crossed arms. His features were barely highlighted in the moonlight, but his eyes somehow managed to stick out above all else. Jason refused to admit how gorgeous they were, even though they were all he could think about whenever he saw them. They were just, so blue. Like oceans trapped in orbs, bright, clear water that you could see right through. 

Admiration quickly turned to irritation. “What the hell, Dick?” 

“Oh, no, don’t let me distract you,” the other chuckled, smirking lightly. “You were quite focused there for a bit.”

“And how long, is a bit?” Jason spoke through clenched teeth. 

“Just since you started mixing the ingredients, don’t worry I wasn’t creeping the whole time-”  
“But you were creeping.”

“Well-”

“No, you don’t get an excuse,” Jay’s voice was raising slightly, stomach churning so much he was afraid he’d throw up again. It was impossible to tell whether it was from anger, or from his body still being pissed from the amount of food he’d eaten. “It’s fuckin’ creepy, why is everyone in this house awake so early?”

Dick visibly tensed at the question, crossed arms tightening in to each other. 

“Master Richard was hungry as well. What did you say earlier? ‘Is that a crime?’” God did he hate Alfred. 

“That’s different,” Jason stuttered, “I didn’t stand there watching you work!” 

“I told him not to disturb you, I wanted to see how you’d do without me.” The butler spoke gently, calming and reassuring all at the same time. How he managed to do that, Jason decided he’d never know. “And by the looks of it, you’ve either been taught to make bread, or you’re a very intelligent young man, Master Jason.” 

The air sat heavily, Jay trying to work out what he was supposed to say to that. All his life he’d been told how stupid he was, how dumb his actions were and how little he’d amount to in his life. How the hell was he supposed to react to a stranger telling him he was, smart? He knew deep down he wasn’t stupid but… this was too much. It had to be fake, none of this could be real. They were using him. 

“Ha, yeah right,” Jay scoffed, rinsing his hands off slightly and wiping them on his sweatpants before shoving his way out of the kitchen. The teen stood next to the doors, closing behind him as he held his breath to remain as quiet as he could. He let the manor sit in silence, waiting for the barade of insults to be audible from the two he left behind. For the truth to come out like he needed it to. Jay needed them to put him off, to use him, to not care. 

They couldn’t care. 

“I apologize, Sir,” Alfred sighed. “I know you wish to get close to him, but it appears he truly does want to leave. He has walls up, even if he decided to stay, they would take time to lower.”

“Yeah, yeah I know…” Dick’s tone was, upset? Down? Longing… “I just, I want him to stay, Alfie. I know where he’s been, and Bruce wouldn’t have brought him back if he didn’t want him to stay. I know him, he sees himself in Jason and feels it’s his responsibility.”

Hesitance. 

“We all do.”

“I know you do, Sir. But we can’t force the boy to stay if he doesn’t want to.” 

“But Alfred, we can help-”

“We can, yes. But it doesn’t appear that he wants it.” Why was this being discussed? Why was it even a question? Of course he didn’t want their help, he didn’t want Alfred to be there for him when he needed a distraction, he didn’t want to tease Tim for his awful sleeping habits or argue with Damian. He didn’t want to get to know Dick. His secrets, hobbies and interests, how he managed to keep such an obviously toned form stable under the pajamas and goofy smile. The story behind his soulmark-

No.

He needed to get back to Roy and Kori. He couldn’t stay even if he wanted to…

Which he didn’t.

“Can we just, try to get him to stay the weekend? Maybe, maybe give him a reason to stay?” Dick’s voice was pleading, begging at this point. 

“Master Richard, tell me, why are you so intent on helping young Jason? And don’t say it’s because you see yourself in him. I know it is more than that.”

“...I know him Alfred. I saw him, years ago when he broke into our car just to get some sleep. His ears practically perked up when Bruce offered food before his eyes got this glazed mask of just,  _ hatred and fear. _ I think, I think he needs us. I want to help him… Bruce helped me when-” 

This was too much. Jason bolted, not caring if he was heard as he ran up the stairs and found himself lost in the maze of halls. His vision was blurring, at least he thought it was. Just like how his ears were ringing and his stomach seizing as he leaned against a wall before sliding down to sit on the floor.  _ Fuck _ his stomach hurt. 

“Jason!” This night couldn’t get any worse. “Shit, are you okay?”

“‘M fine,” Jay muttered, clutching his stomach. Bile was crawling up his throat. There was no way he was going to let himself puke on Dick Grayson. “I-” The boy gagged. “Bathroom.”

“Right, right, come on.” Jason felt himself getting picked up, an arm slung around him and holding him up as they walked down the hallways past countless doors and rooms. “Right here, don’t worry you’re gonna be fine.” 

“I know, tha’s what I said,” the teen mumbled, trying his hardest to just hold it in a little longer. They entered a room he had no time to observe as he was already getting tugged into a bathroom, a soft, orange glow being the only light in the room. Thank God. 

“Here ya go.” 

The second Jay was set down he was emptying his guts into the toilet. Or at least, what he had left to throw up. It was mainly dry heaving, and the boy couldn’t tell if that was better or worse than actually throwing up. Tears slid down his face, pain shooting through his stomach as his head pounded. The past 24 hours had to be the most bizarre in his life at this point, and that was saying a lot. 

Jason felt a hand rubbing circles against his back, a motion he knew all too well. A motion he craved when he got sick when he was younger, but was the one doing it when the time came. “Stop,” he snapped, voice hoarse and scratched as he slapped the hand away. Jay expected a smack to the face, his brain still slightly out of it as he was convinced he was back in the dirty old apartment. Harley would give him some soup later if she could, the Joker would tell him to get over it, he’d probably get by with a bruised jaw. He did just snap at a maniac. 

“Okay, okay, no touching.” What? “Here’s a warm washcloth, wash your face off, I know how gross this shit can feel.” A light chuckle. It was pretty. 

Was he really that- “tired.” Jay was more lightheaded than he cared to admit as he scolded himself for eating to much, way too fast. 

“Alright, let’s get you to bed. C’mon.” He was weightless once more. 

Soft pillows, a blanket pulled up to his chin, a washcloth on his forehead, the clink of a glass being put on the bedside table. Maybe he mom was getting better, if she could do all this for him, maybe she would be okay.

 

~

 

Jason woke expecting his cheek to sting and for a blanket to be yanked off his curled up form. For the springs of the mattress to be in his back and neck to hurt from a lack of a pillow. But he wasn’t curled up, his neck was supported and face buried in what felt like a cloud. A little too fluffy but he wasn’t about to complain. Jay’s body was sprawled on his stomach, legs apart and arms spread just as much. He wasn’t covered by a blanket, but because it was bunched at the foot of the bed and tangled in his legs. 

Jay groaned as he opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light shining through the large windows on the wall opposite the bed. The bed. 

Whose bed was he in?  
Jason looked around, looking for the astrology posters, for the bedside lamp shaped like a moon glowing softly. But instead he was greeting with old circus posters featuring a family of three, a floor covered in clothes he could only assume had been sitting there for weeks, and at least two boxes of cereal on a dresser across the room. There was a telescope, which was the only thing he could remember being in the room the family had let him use. But that was it. There was a whole wall of books, and another poster with Robin Hood plastered on the front. 

Dick’s room. 

...Why the fuck was he in Dick’s room? Jason sat up immediately, jerking his gaze to a clock beside the bed reading one in the afternoon. He was so screwed. 

The teen bolted out of bed, noticing stains of white powder on his shirt as memories of the previous “night” seeped through his head. Where was he supposed to go? If he went back to the apartment now he’d never see the light of day again, and he didn’t know how to get to Roy’s from Wayne Manor. It’s as if they really were that intent on keeping him there. 

Jason opened the bedroom door and looked out into the hall. Voices were audible throughout the house, Damian’s the most prominent. “What is the point in having pancakes in the afternoon? They’re a breakfast food!”

“Come on Dami, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, making pancakes the most important food.” Dick’s voice. Of course that was his logic. 

“Grayson, your reasoning behind your unhealthy eating habits disgust me.” 

“Gotta agree with Damian on this one,” Tim’s voice could be heard, muffled from what Jason could assume was a mouth full of pancakes. “Hey! Give that back- Dick!”

“No, Tim. All you do is drink straight up black coffee, it’s gonna kill you.”

“It will not-”

“You’re fourteen!”

“I’m in an AP class at school.”

“Skipping grades and being in college classes is no reason to drink coffee every waking moment of the day.”

“Coffee is disgusting,” Damian spat.

“Agreed,” slipped from Jason’s lips as he realized he was now standing in the living room, eyeing the three who were sitting at a bar in the back of the area. The fact that they had an open breakfast bar in their living room was far from surprising at this point. The dining and living room were an open space as well, contradicting from the claustrophobic aura of the apartment. The three turned to face the teen, a smile shooting across Dick’s face. 

“Jason! You’re up!” the older gleamed, gesturing to the plate he held in hand and setting down a cup Jay assumed was the mug taken from Tim. “Pancakes, want some? Alfred makes the best ones.”

“I, well,” Jason stuttered, trying to find a way to excuse himself of being in the house any longer than he intended. How did he even manage to stay this long? It’s been nearly twenty four hours, going back now would be better than later if he slipped some stuff into his pockets. “...Where’s Bruce?” A perfectly valid question, as the teen hadn’t seen him since the previous night. 

“Work,” Damian snapped, leaning down and feeding a large great dane Jay was surprised he hadn’t noticed until then. “This is Titus, and if you are going to insult him as you did Pennyworth-”

“I insulted  _ you _ -”

“Not this again,” Tim groaned, resting his face in his palm as bags under his eyes were way too apparent.

“Alfred?” Dick interrupted them, the butler turning around with a spatula in hand. “One more?”  
“Of course, Sir,” Alfred nodded, turning back and walking into the kitchen. 

“You’re gonna love them,” Dick smiled softly, leaning against the counter and turning to face Jason. 

“I’m fine, I ate enough last night,” the younger muttered, crossing his arms and looking away. Memories of the very early morning made his stomach twist. His teeth felt disgusting as he realized how badly he just wanted to brush them, take a shower and put on clean clothes. Usually being dirty didn’t bother Jason, and the need to impress people was always nonexistent. But that was before a rich man brought him into his house and surrounded the boy with three just as rich kids and a butler. 

“Just one?” Dick frowned slightly. “You’re stomach’s even more empty because of last night-”

“What happened last night?” Damian scoffed, looking up with that  _ stupid look  _ on his face. 

“None of your business, Demon Spawn,” Jason spat, fist clenching as he let his temper creep up. 

“Did you get sick?” Tim piped up, seeming too tired to turn around. “Alfred can get you some-”  
“How many times do I have to tell you guys, I don’t need your fucking charity!” And with that Jason was storming out, going who knows where in the house. For some reason it hadn’t occurred to him to just, leave the manor. It was simple, easy even to pick up a vase he was sure was worth more than himself and leave. Go back to the Joker, go back to Harley, and more importantly:

Get back to Roy and Kori. 

He’d abandoned them, just as everyone abandoned him. He was a hypocrite, really, and he couldn’t deny it. 

Jason found himself in the hallway upstairs Dick had actively avoided during the “grand tour” of the house. All the more reason to explore it. Jay looked into a few rooms, a couple of them being suspiciously locked which only increased the boys curiosity of what a billionaire could be hiding. It was the unlocked room with double doors that peaked Jason’s interest the most, an “R” engraved into the doorknobs. 

Jay turned the handle and stepped in, eyes widening at what was held in the room. The floor was a blue carpet type material, taped lines scattered throughout. Hanging from the ceiling were gymnastic rings, and other equipment in the room consisted of a vault, balance beam, uneven bars, along with things he couldn’t even name. 

“Jason?”

The boy spun around, expression hardening slightly at the sight of one Dick Grayson standing in the doorway. “What?”

“Are you okay?” A heavy silence sat in the air, Jason’s muscles tensing as he froze. For the first time someone had asked that, their voice was genuine. Or at least it seemed as such. Dick stepped in, closing the door behind him and walking towards the balance beam. “Look… you don’t have to stay.”

_Here it came..._   
“I want you to, we all do but, I can’t force you to stay somewhere you hate.” 

... _ this was unexpected.  _

“Damian’s a brat, yeah,” Dick chuckled, running his hand along the beam. “But that doesn’t mean he hates or will hate you forever. He’s just, really protective and closed off. Sound like someone we both know?” Jason scowled at the remark.

“Tim already loves you, I  asked him this morning and he said he’d rather you stay here than wherever you came from. I won’t give you his full blown analysis but, he said he was almost one hundred percent certain you aren’t coming from the kindest of people.” Jay refused to speak, Dick pulling himself onto the beam and walking up and down it effortlessly. “Alfred adores you as well, in fact he wants you to stay almost as much as I do,” the teen chuckled lightly, laugh lighting up the room in a way Jason would never admit it did so. “And Bruce? Well, he took you home in the first place so I’d say his take on the situation is pretty obvious-”

“What’s the catch?” Jason interrupted. 

“...What?”

“The catch? The, the deal, what are you guys getting from this?” 

Dick raised an eyebrow as he pressed his lips together. “You?” 

“No!” Jay snapped, taking a breath and lowering his voice. “There’s no way you’re all just, okay with letting a street rat live with you! How do you know I’m not gonna, I don’t know, take a bag of stuff and leave, sell it on the streets?” 

“We don’t,” Dick turned away, continuing to move fluidly on the raised beam. “But we’re willing to trust that you’ll stay, not because we’re forcing you, but because you want to.” The older did a backbend, flawlessly and effortlessly as he kicked back into a standing position. Jay watched in awe as he continued doing cartwheels to ariels to a handstand lasting way too long. 

“How do you do all that?” He muttered, snapping himself back into reality as the sight of Dick’s shirt falling was too much for his brain to handle. 

“History and practice,” the other smiled softly. 

“...How are you so open about your soulmark?” Jason stumbled over his words, desperate to shift the conversation away from him. Dick chuckled, falling into a normal position and sitting on the beam. He patted the space beside him, motioning for Jay to sit. The younger pulled himself up onto the beam with ease, swinging his legs and looking at the ground. 

“My soulmark has always been, different from a lot of peoples,” Dick began, swinging his own legs as well. “Whoever it is has had a rough time so far, and, well, I thinking hiding them so much is wrong. I don’t flaunt what I think the words mean, that’s just an invasion of privacy. But whatever they’re going through, I’m sure being hidden away from the world would only make them feel worse. Even if they don’t know who I am.” 

“Soulmates are bullshit,” Jason scoffed, earning a laugh from the other and causing the smaller to look up at him. “What? They are, they don’t always work out so what’s the point in going to any length to find them?” 

“Sounds like someone speaking from experience.”

Jason stuttered, unable to process a coherent thought. 

“I noticed it on your wrist this morning, short sleeves aren’t very good at hiding things,” Dick smirked. “I didn’t read it though don’t worry, but from how much you wanna hide it, I can tell something happened that made you think that way.”

“What is it with you people and constantly analyzing everyone you come across?” Jay grumbled, looking back down and rubbing the mark. 

“What can I say? We’re an observant family.” 

The two sat in silence for a while after that, Dick getting up to move to other equipment as Jason pretended not to stare. At first a scowl was all he could muster up to keep on his lips, but within hours that felt like minutes, he was giggling to himself at dumb puns and remarks Richard made. It was as if he was a living book of shitty puns, and for some reason, that didn’t completely annoy Jason. Talking about soulmarks with someone was an odd experience, hearing someone so openly talk about their soulmate without even knowing them. 

It was nice though, seeing Dick light up and care about someone that could potentially ruin his life.   
Whoever it was, Jason prayed they’d be worthy of such a person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason is focused on that bread.  
> I love him, I'd low-key die for him in all honesty. Anyways hope this was good, hope y'all enjoyed, and I actually have a schedule now! Woo! Thanks for reading and as always constructive criticism is highly welcomed as well as comments and support, I love reading what you guys think it really just makes my whole day.   
> -Dean


	5. Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I'm so sorry for the short hiatus, I'll explain that in the end notes. But hopefully this chapter was worth the week and a half delay, again I'm so sorry about that. 
> 
> Warnings: Heavy depiction of anxiety attacks

To say hanging out with Dick was the happiest moment of Jason’s life would be an understatement. Despite the older being a show-off and knowing how flirtatious he was, Jason couldn’t help himself from wanting to spend more time with him. Watching him do gymnastics was interesting to say the least as Jay gave in to staring at the other’s form the entire time. It was memorizing, he’d even go so far as to call it beautiful. Dick Grayson was beautiful.

And that was the most annoying thing.

This man that Jason had met just two days ago was suddenly the only person he wanted to be around, excluding Roy and Kori, and it was driving the teen insane. He was pretty confident it was all just a ploy to get him to stay, and while Dick seemed sure enough that it wasn’t, Jay was smarter than that.

Then again, what’s the point in wasting free food, a bed, or money?

The two were wandering around the manor, Dick going into further detail on the decor and rooms than he had talked about during the original tour.

“So,” Jason began, “why’d you keep that whole wing a secret?

“Well, cause there are rooms in that hall that are important and personal to each of us. Bruce went out of his way to give us each a safe space, and I figured neither of the boys would be very happy with you snooping around their stuff,” Dick chuckled lightly, brushing a strand of black hair behind his ear.

“Clearly you don’t give a shit about keeping secrets,” Jason frowned. “If Bruce went ‘out of his way’ to give you a private room, I don’t see why you’d be so okay with me wandering in. Let alone continue to be a hell of a show off,” he snapped. The entire experience of Dick making him smile and laugh like nothing was wrong felt, off. It wasn’t going to last long, so why waste time letting down his barrier he’d spent so long building up?

“I suppose so, but it was more of my way to let you know you’re welcome here, Jason,” the taller shrugged. “We want you here. Me being secretive isn’t gonna make you feel too accepted.”

“Who’s to say I want to stay in the first place?” A pause sat between the two as they went down the long flight of stairs.

Dick shrugged again, stopping in his tracks. “Well, that’s your decision.” He turned to face Jason.

The split second of eye contact felt much longer than it was supposed to as Jay looked up at the older before him. The teen was good at reading people, always had been, so Dick being impossible to decipher was infuriating. Someone so simple couldn’t possibly be so complex at the same time. Someone so open couldn’t be as mysterious as Dick Grayson was. He and his stupid black hair that curled at the nape of his neck, his deep blue eyes and tan skin-

“But until you decide, movie night!” Dick’s voice broke Jason out of his thoughts, blinking to himself before nodding.

“Movie… night?” He had to be joking.

“Yeah, of course,” Dick said as he began walking back down the stairs, speaking as if it was obvious. “Every Sunday.”

Jay hesitated before running after him, following him through another set of hallways. “You’re telling me I have to sit through a movie with Demon Spawn?”

“Who’s-” Dick’s eyes went wide at the realization, laughs spilling from his lips as they continued. “Damian? Yeah, yeah you’re gonna have to.”

“I prefer the Joker,” Jason scoffed.

The taller tilted his head, eyeing Jay in confusion. “The, Joker?”

The boy tensed up, clenching his fists and avoiding eye contact. _Stupid, stupid, stupid that was an idiotic mistake,_ he scolded himself. “No one,” he snapped.

“Alright… if you say so,” Dick turned back slowly, coming up to a pair of double doors. “Here we are! May I present to you, the only good place to watch high quality movies,” he smirked, opening the door and holding it.

Jason stepped into the room, the size and appearance of it not even surprising at this point. It looked like an expensive movie theater, with rows of red seats, large speakers in the walls and the biggest screen Jay had seen in his life. Damian and Tim were sitting a few seats from each other in the middle row, arguing about which side was the best.

“Clearly, the right, because the majority of people prefer the right to the left in any situation because the majority of people are right handed!” Damian snapped, eyebrows furrowed and his fists clenched by his sides.

“What kind of logic is that? You’re left handed! You should gravitate to the left anyways!” Tim yelled back, voice raising.

“Do they always do this?” Jason muttered to Dick, remembering dinner the previous night.  

The taller giggled in response, nodding and leaning against the wall.

“Father agrees with me, as does Grayson, majority rules so I’m clearly correct in the situation. Right?” The two turned their gaze to Dick, who’s eyes widened at being put on the spot.

“I never, haha, I mean, I don’t know guys I’d say it’s pretty even,” he chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don’t know, Dick, I think you gotta choose,” Jay smirked, crossing his arms.

Dick shot a glare at the shorter before looking back to Tim and Damian.

“Come on, Dick, don’t leave me hanging on this one,” Tim pleaded, mocking a pout.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that!”

“Grayson, you are the only one in this family I love, and I will never speak to you again if you-”

“I agree with Damian!”

“Are you shitting me?” Tim yelled, throwing his arms in the air. Jason let out a string of chuckles, rolling his eyes and heading to the back row of the theater. If he was being forced to have a “Family Movie Night,” there was no way he was going to sit next to any of them. Even with his heart racing at the thought of sitting next to Dick.

 _Two days, Jason, you met him yesterday,_ the boy thought to himself, smile fading into a near scowl. The guy was hot, that was it.  

“Bruce joining us for this one?” Tim asked, Dick moving to sit beside him after shooting a concerned glance to Jason.

“Are you accusing me of missing movie night?” a low voice spoke up from the back of the theater, Bruce’s form standing in the entryway as he stepped in. “Is Jason still here?”

“Unfortunately so,” Damian snapped, crossing his arms and sitting down with a seat beside him left empty for the man.

“Now, Damian, if Jason is going to be staying with us we need you to work on refraining from the insults,” Bruce said with a light smile. For once, Jason didn’t interrupt or speak up about staying because frankly, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to leave.

“Tt, either way, he’s choosing to sit alone, a decent indicator that he does not wish to be here,” the boy scoffed, picking up a bowl of popcorn he’d been keeping on the ground next to his seat.

“Maybe he just doesn’t wanna sit next to _you_ ,” Tim piped up, sipping what Jason could only assume was coffee from a travel cup. The dynamic of the whole family was bizarre, then again Jason’s only family had ever been a pair of dysfunctional soulmates forcing him to steal tires just to get a decent meal. Jay was still more than hesitant to accept the Wayne family’s “kindness,” as the only reason one would ever keep a screwed child such as himself was publicity. The thought would most definitely linger in the back of his mind, no matter how much any of them tried to convince him otherwise.

Besides, each member of the family was frustratingly difficult to read. At first Jason thought Dick was the only one he wouldn’t be able to decipher, yet in the span of two days, the rest were becoming increasingly more difficult to break apart.

Bruce seemed like the stoic, “couldn’t care less” father adopting children to get a good rep. Instead, here he was, making jokes with his children as they settled for movie night and insisting Jason stay with some type of reverse psychology.

Dick seemed like the big brother type, taking care of the younger two and being the most responsible. And yet here _he_ was, afraid of an eleven year old as he giggled in the most beautiful strings of laughs Jason would never care to admit being so. He was a show off, yet not an ounce of cockiness radiated from him the entirety of his little gymnastics routine from earlier.

Tim seemed like the smartest of the bunch, a simple nerd stereotype Jay was sure he’d be able to read the second he met the boy. However he sat with his legs propped on the seat in front of him, a coffee mug in hand as he shoved swedish fish down his throat joking around with the others.

Damian was a demon. That was it.

...Except for the fact that he seemed very close to Dick, even more protective of his animals, and the only one to call Bruce “Father” the entire time Jason had been there. But the teen refused to accept there were any layers beneath that monster-child’s evil demeanor.  

“What movie are we watching?” Bruce asked the boys, Jason still sitting with his arms crossed and refusing to give any of them a speck of attention. The situation was too safe, too good to be remotely true. He couldn’t let himself get pulled into another trap with no escape. Not again.

“I wanted Into the Spider-Verse, but Tim was rooting for an Alfred Hitchcock film,” Dick spoke up, already shoveling popcorn into his mouth.

Tim groaned, “we’ve seen Spider-Verse a thousand times since it came out!”

“Because it is the best animated film of our time!” Damian spoke up, turning to Tim, who scoffed in response.

“I’m pretty sure there are many animated films from our generation that are much better than Into the Spider-Verse-”

“Jason!” Dick gleamed, the four (Bruce included) turned instantly to face the teen still hunched in the back. “You’re the guest, what do we watch? Hitchcock or Spider-Verse?”

“Uh,” Jason muttered, “I, well…” What the hell was he supposed to say? Any sane human would just pick one, not worrying about whether or not the others would be able to tell that he hasn’t seen either movie. But in that moment, Jay’s brain betrayed him, as well as his vocal chords. “I dunno, never seen them.”

Dick’s jaw dropped, Tim doing the same as Damian snorted. Bruce simply smiled sadly to himself, a look Jason despised yet craved in the back of his mind. He didn’t want pity… but that wasn’t the look the man was giving him.

“Well, I mean, the book for Psycho was really good so why don’t we just watch that?” the boy murmured.

“Wait, wait, so you’ve read Psycho, but you’ve never seen the movie for that or Spider-Verse?” Tim gawked, nearly dropping his coffee. It was hard to tell whether or not that was from sheer exhaustion or genuine surprise.

“Yeah? Got an issue with that?” Jason snapped.

“I think it’s all the more reason to watch Into the Spider-Verse because he already knows the storyline for Psycho, and we need to seize the opportunity!” Dick exclaimed.

“Ugh why can’t we just watch one tonight and one tomorrow?” Jay asked, furrowing his eyebrows before realizing what he has just implied.

“School night,” Bruce answered simply, causing the teen to nearly sigh in relief for the distraction. Jay prayed none of the others thought twice about what he’d said, but the grin on Dick’s face said otherwise. Fuck. “We’ll watch Spider-Verse tonight then, and we’d better start it now or my argument for not watching anything tomorrow will be pointless.”

“Tt,” Damian scoffed, “with Tim and Dick’s sleep schedule, it already is.”

“Hey!” Dick turned to the younger.

“Grayson, you cannot possibly tell me that eating cereal at three in the morning can be considered ‘good sleeping or eating’ habits,” Damian frowned, crossing his arms.

“Spider-Verse it is, then!” Tim interrupted before another argument broke out. The door suddenly opened, Jason turning his gaze to look towards it and seeing Alfred step in. The butler held a blanket, a small plate of bread and a travel cup of water, heading over to the boy.

“Here you are, Master Jason,” Alfred smiled, handing him the food and drink and setting the blanket in the seat beside Jay. “The bread from this morning is the best batch this house has ever seen.” Jason took the plate, eyeing the slices. Each had a thin layer of melted butter, a delicacy he was all too familiar with back home before his mother…

“Thanks, Alfred,” Jay forced a smile, his guard further down that he would’ve cared for. Then again, this was Alfred, and in the span of two days he was more comfortable with the man than he’d been with anyone else. Even Dick. Sure they’d “bonded” in his little gym room, but that was simply a way to pass time. Obviously.

“Of course, Sir.” Alfred nodded in response and making his way to join the others before Jay could retaliate the title. He sat beside Bruce, giving a gentle smile as Tim darted into a room presumably to put the movie in.

“Last chance to sit with us, Jason!” Dick called back, keeping his gaze on the screen as it lit up and the lights dimmed down.

Jay simply shook his head despite knowing he couldn’t be seen, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around himself like a cocoon. It wasn’t until the lights were completely off when the teen realized how genuinely exhausted he was. All that he’d done in the past two days was more draining than he expected, even though he’d slept in later than he had ever done before. In fact, the more sleep he got, the more exhausted he became. There was no way he was going to to let himself fall asleep in the Wayne Manor home theater. Jay rubbed his eyes, feeling like a toddler as he pulled the blanket up to his chin.

His eyelids slowly shut, only intending to keep them closed for a few minutes when he drifted unconscious.

 

~

 

“Tt, I say we leave him.”

“Dami, we aren’t leaving Jason alone in the theater.”

“Yeah don’t be a brat Damian-”

“Master Tim.”

“Sorry Alfred.”

“Fine then, I propose we pour a bucket of ice water on his head-”

“Damian!”

“What? Father, you let me do it to Drake, I don’t see why Todd is the exception.”

“I’m not letting you wake someone up with ice water while we’re trying to get them to stay and live with us.”

“Who said I wanted him living here?”

“Come on, Dami, you know you love him!”

“I most certainly do not.”

“How about, we wake him up like civilized human beings?”

“Master Tim is certainly the only one with any reasonable plan.”

The constant voices echoed in Jason’s head as he attempted to find out whether he was dreaming or not. Certainly the demon spawn hadn’t worked his way that far into Jason’s subconscious. So he opened his eyes to see a family of black haired figures looming over him, causing him to jump back and clench his fists. “What the fuck?!”

“Language,” Alfred scolded blatantly.

“Damian was the one telling us to-”

“Oh will you stop ratting me out, Drake, before I incinerate you?” the child snapped, gritting his teeth and attempting to appear taller than he was.

“I don’t give a shit, just, ugh,” Jason mumbled, standing with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. A yawn forced its way through his throat despite his desire to hold it down.

“Tt, well, the weekend is up, and I recall that being the limit of Todd’s stay,” Damian spat.

Jay rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to ask to be taken back to the apartment, as Demon Spawn _was_ telling the truth -And his obvious wish for Jason to leave was all the more reason for him to go- But the image of the Joker, a blood red grin plastered across a pale face shot through his mind. He couldn’t go back, there was no way he was going back. No, no, no.

No. He wasn’t going to panic. He’d already done it once just early this morning. He couldn’t let _him_ have this much of an effect.

But the laughter rung in Jason’s ears, the sounds of Harley crying softly in the corner of the room as the metal hit him again, and again, and again, “and again, and again…”

“Back up will ya?” Harley.

“What’s going on-”

“I got this-”

“Alfred, take Tim-”

“Bruce, I said I got this.”

“And I said no. Dick bring Damian and Tim to their rooms-”

“But-”

“Father what’s-”

“Richard. Now.” Pause.

“Okay…”

“Jason?”

This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening. Jay attempted to form words but nothing came out, just chokes and gasps as the crowbar hit harder, and harder, harder with every swing. He clutched his ribs. They hurt the most.

“Jason, there’s nothing there, it’s okay.” It wasn’t okay, Harley couldn’t convince him no matter how hard she tried. “Please, Jason it’s alright, can I touch you?” Touch? No, yes, of course, please don’t. A frantic nod. “Okay, focus on the tapping on your wrist, breathe in and out with it, can you do that?” Tapping, tapping, his wrist. His soulmark. Right over it.

“Y-Yeah.” His voice was distant, far, too far.

“Alright, in and out, Jason, in and out.” Breathing, he could do that, even though it burned his lungs and each intake of air weighed a ton. “I’m going to start counting, and when you can, join in, understand?” Nod. The words were faint, his chest hurt, and it wasn’t until he heard the number 78 being said in a calm voice until the world began to come into focus.

“79,” he coughed out, “80, 81, 82, 83, 84…” And they continued.

Continued until they hit 213.

A heavy silence sat in the air as Jason was finally able to completely fix his gaze on a figure crouched before him. A large form, one with a grey t-shirt and black sweatpants: attire he’d never thought he’d see on Bruce Wayne…

“Bruce?”

“Are you alright?” Was he alright?

“I’m, I’m fine,” he choked out. That was an evident lie.

“Jason,” Bruce spoke sternly, using a voice the boy had no idea how to interpret. “You’re not okay, and that’s fine. But I need you to try and talk to me.”

“...y-yeah, yeah f-fine.” His voice was pathetic.

“What triggered it?”

“What?”

“Your anxiety attack, Jason. What triggered you to start panicking?” Bruce’s tone was low and calm, not demanding, not angry, but...soothing.

“I, don’t…” Did he know? He’d woken up, everyone was arguing, Damian had asked him to go “home,” Jay muttered. If he could even call it that.

“...Your home?” Jason nodded hesitantly.

“The, the apartment, I don’t- _Bruce I can’t_ -”

“It’s alright, Jason, you don’t have to go back,” the man reassured, placing a hand on the teens back and rubbing soothing circles against it. “I’m not going to make you go.”

“Please, please don’t make me go back there,” Jason found himself blabbering like a baby as he leaned forward and clung to the billionaire's shirt as if his life depended on it. Funny how two days can make someone such as Jason Todd hug Bruce Wayne, sobbing into his shirt as his “tough act” was no more.

“You can stay here, as long as you need.”

At this point, Jay didn’t have much of a choice. The idea of returning to the apartment was sickening, so much so that only two days away from the place made anywhere else seem like heaven. Jason thought he’d had it good, he thought the apartment was his safe haven. That everything was being done for his own good. If he went back now, there was high possibility he’d never leave the house again. And not because he’d be grounded.

“Can, can I just go to bed?” Jason managed to say without stuttering too much. At least he could get a coherent sentence out, the whole ordeal was embarrassing enough as it was.

“Of course, come on,” Bruce smiled gently, helping Jason stand from his seat. The boy’s vision began to black out from standing up too fast, causing him to fall back against Bruce. The man simply pulled Jason up to carry him, a moment the teen vowed to never tell anyone about.

There was no way he was telling anyone that Bruce Wayne carried Jason Todd at age 15 to his room because he had an anxiety attack. Except for Roy, who would find the situation to be rather hysterical yet be secretly envious of the attention.

Roy… and Kori. God, he couldn’t just leave them. Despite being more than sure he wanted to stay at Wayne Manor, Jay refused to let that stand in the way of the trio. It just wasn’t going to happen as long as Jason was alive. He wouldn’t let it.

Jason also decided that nearly falling asleep in Bruce’s arms never happened as he was being carried to his room. Obviously he didn’t close his eyes, and of course he didn’t feel safe in the man’s hold. _Duh._

“Same room as Dick picked out for you?” Bruce’s chest vibrated with the sound of his voice, an immensely odd comfort Jason rested his head against. The boy nodded, evidently enough for the man to understand. The two made their way through hallways, the maze already becoming familiar as Jay was able to count off when they’d reach his room. _His room_. His willingness to call it that was discomforting. “Alright, here we are.”

“I can get into-”

“C’mon.” At this point, the teen was too tired to be embarrassed. The need, the sheer desperation to have someone just _hold him_ for once in his life. His mom had when he was younger, and by younger he meant when he was born. Jay couldn’t remember the last time, let alone any time, that an adult held him and carried him to bed. So for that one moment, Jason Todd let himself be a child.

 

~

 

“Bruce! Is he okay?” Dick asked as soon as his father entered the living room, all heads turning towards the doorway.

“He wasn’t dying, Grayson. Tim said he just panicked and that’s it,” Damian spoke up as he crossed his arms and sat in the corner of the large couch.

“Just because he wasn’t dying doesn’t mean that he’s completely fine,” Tim snapped.

“Calm down, boys, I’m sure Master Jason is alright.” Alfred raised an eyebrow at Bruce, who simply nodded in return.

“Jason is fine,” the man said monotonically. “Dick, I thought I told you to take these two to bed.”

Richard furrowed his eyebrows, standing from his seat. “They were worried, and I figured they’d want to know what’s going on in case Jason isn’t here in the morning. You know, because we don’t know what the hell he’s thinking aside from the fact that he doesn’t feel welcome here in the slightest.”

“Dick-”

  
“No,” the teen said plainly, causing an uncomfortable feeling to settle in the air. “Just, listen to us for once.” Dick looked down to Tim, who averted eye contact the second it was made. “Come on, Tim, you can’t expect anyone here to believe you haven’t already made up your mind on the situation.”

The 14 year old rubbed the back of his neck, taking a breath before speaking up. “I want Jason to stay. And I want to know if he’s alright, no one just breaks in to that bad of a panic-” he paused, thinking over his words carefully. “Not unless they have a good reason to.”

Dick nodded, a slight smile on his face as he then looked towards Damian. “Dami?”

The boy crossed his arms and pressed his lips together, gears in his head almost visibly turning. “I... “ he sighed, “as much as I would like for this family to remain the same, I am not completely opposed to Todd living here.” Dick felt a warmth spread through his chest at his brothers words, an acceptance he hadn’t expected from the younger in years. Progress.

“And Alfred?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well, Master Jason is certainly the only one here that can make a decent loaf of bread, and without instruction at that,” the butler shrugged, looking to Bruce with a grin. “I think we’ve come to an agreement, sir.”

Bruce looked to the ground, crossing his arms and letting out a long breath he’d been holding for too long. “I’ll talk to Jason in the morning.”

A large smile spread across Dick’s face, the boy too happy to hold it back. Alfred had asked him many times since Jason’s arrival, why he wanted him to stay so badly in the first place. Each time he answered with a different reason, and it wasn’t as if any of said answers were lies, it was more of the fact that he didn’t know which one was the most truthful. And sure, he was open about his soulmark to almost everyone, but it was the way that his reasoning and feelings about the subject spilled from his lips that gave him the sense that he needed Jason to stay.

When Dick first saw the boy walking around in _his_ gym, a feeling of anger sparked in his heart as he wanted to kick the other out immediately; scold him for invading something so private and personal. But seeing Jason eye the equipment with such awe, such light behind his eyes, caused any negative feeling to vanish. If anything he wanted to immediately start teaching the younger how to use each piece of said equipment right then and there. He didn’t know why, and it was terrifying.

Yet exhilarating.

A buzzing in Dick’s pocket caused him to jerk out of his thoughts, Damian and Tim arguing about what should be considered “bedtime” as Alfred and Bruce attempted to break them apart. The teen chuckled softly, pulling the phone from his pocket and gleaming at the contact name plastered on the screen.

He swiped right, answering the call.

“Babs! How may I aid you this fine evening, love?”

 

~

 

Jason awoke to the most annoying beeping he’d ever heard in his life, a constant sound that echoed in his head as his arm swung around in search for the source. His hand found an alarm clock on the bedside table, hitting the top of it a little harder than he should’ve as the beeping stopped. Jay laid there for a few minutes, rubbing the mark on his wrist as he stared at the ceiling.

The words felt pointless. Here he was, stuck in Wayne Manor, with a constant reminder that he’d be completely alone for the rest of his life. Even if he did decide to stay, the fact that there was supposedly someone made for him out there in the world was agonizing and mocking at this point. And Dick Grayson’s admiration for his own soulmate was the universe rubbing it in his face more and more each day.

Jason groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in the bed as he looked to the clock beside him.

“Really? Six-thirty in the morning?” he mumbled. He didn’t remember setting an alarm, and the family would have no reason to set one this early for him unless- “fuck no.”

Voices could be heard from downstairs, footsteps racing around as Jay got out of the bed and went into the hallway.

“Dick, I swear to God!”

“What did I say yesterday Tim? Huh? What did I say?!”

“That I can’t live on coffee, yeah, yeah, whatever just tell me where you put it!”

“I hid it for a reason, Tim! Resist!”

“You hiding my travel mug isn’t helping, it’s putting me into withdrawal!”

The whole thing was essentially a repeat from the day before, Dick trying to get Tim out of his coffee habits as Jason was unable to tell what was a genuine argument at this point. He went down the stairs, making his way into the dining room to be met with a sight he couldn’t have made up.

Damian was sitting at the table properly, eating a full plate of scrambled eggs that looked like it belonged in a five star restaurant. Dick and Tim were racing around the room, Tim still searching for his coffee mug and Dick looking for-

“Ugh, where’s my physics report?!” the teen groaned, sprinting past Jason and up the stairs. His voice could still be heard yelling throughout the house, “I worked five hours on that, I refuse to turn it in late!”

“Karma!” Tim yelled back in response. All Jay could do was stand in the doorway, watching as the boys ran around hastily. In that moment, the teen was overly grateful that he hadn’t gone to school for about a year. A year he was realizing he took for granted.

“Wait, Drake, what did you do with my tie?” Damian snapped, looking up from his food.

“Me? Why would I want your tie, I’m wearing _mine_ ,” Tim sighed in response.

“Yeah, well, mine is gone, and you’re the only one I’d have any reason to suspect-”

“Your tie, Master Damian,” Alfred said calmly, walking into the room and handing the fabric of blue and red to the boy. Dick came running back in, stuffing a thick packet into his bag before finally noticing Jason.

“Jason!” Every head spun to face him. “You’re, still here.”

“Yeah, well, don’t look so disappointed,” Jay mumbled.

“No! No, we’re glad you are, just, do you by any chance… uh…”

“What Grayson is attempting to ask, is if you plan on living with us,” Damian said bluntly. Tim raised an eyebrow, the same question plastered on his face.

“I, uh, I don’t-”

“Dick! Barbara is here,” Bruce’s voice called in from the hallway. “You’re lucky she’s giving you a ride this late. She’s the only reason you three have been on time for school for the past week.”

Damian simply left, walking out of the room and giving a wave to Alfred. Tim followed, giving a quick goodbye to both the butler and to Jason as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Jay turned to Dick, waving slightly himself.

“See ya later, I guess,” he shrugged, refusing to give a solid indication as to whether or not he’d actually still be at the house when the three returned from school. Despite knowing for a fact that he would be.

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Dick smiled, walking out of the room. “You can meet Babs when we get back, I’m sure she’d love to meet you!”

Jason paused. “Babs?”

“Shit sorry,” Dick chuckled, “Barbara. She’s my girlfriend.”

...Oh. That was fine, this was fine.

“Jason,” Bruce spoke up as Dick raced out the door. “Sit.” The teen complied, not exactly having much of a choice. The two sat across from each other, Jason resting crossed arms on the table in front of him as he forced himself to look up at the man in front of him. “We, as a family, have decided that we want you to stay.”

“Ha, I doubt-”

“Damian included.”

A silence sat in the air, a thousand thoughts racing through Jason’s mind. Did he want to stay? Was this seriously something he was thinking of doing? He’d only had a few days but even then they’d been the best days of his life. He wasn’t exhausted despite getting up at six in the morning, and he wasn’t even hungry. The thought of going back to the Joker now was sheer insanity…

“Jason?”

“...I want to stay.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Alright I apologize for any spelling errors, please don't blame my editor (thank you N for the constant help), I told him not to worry about the last couple of pages cause I'm not gonna be home for the next four days and I just really need to get this published. Anyways so... the past week has been really rough, and I was seriously contemplating another week to myself because I got dumped on Monday. Yeah... that was fun. But I figured if I gave myself more time I'd end up losing all motivation for this fic and there's just so much I want to do with it, it isn't worth giving up on. Anyways, if the soulmate thing still doesn't feel like a big deal right now that's intentional I swear, I figured that because it's something so normal in their universe, it shouldn't be the major focus. It's still there, but I promise it will be VERY significant as the story progresses. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and support is appreciated greatly. Comments and kudos really do keep me going, and I hope you're all ready for this shit to take off :)  
> -Dean


	6. Kori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys haha... uh so I said I'd update on time but here we are? Stuff keeps coming up and lost all motivation to write and everything I was writing was turning out like shit so I'm sorry. Anyways I hope you enjoy this, no warnings for once, and I'll see ya at the end.

The day had been going by slower than any other Jason had experienced. His usual schedule consisted of sneaking out, getting home a little late and getting a punishment before bed. His body would never be sore as he was constantly working, so the hours of relaxation Jay was enduring throughout the day was slowly becoming more and more consequential. Even when he first arrived and had down time for two days, he was sleeping or moving around the whole day. Now? There he sat at the breakfast bar, cheek in palm as he stared at the wall. 

And he was slowly realizing how sore his muscles really were. On top of that, he couldn’t stop thoughts from racing through his mind constantly as he sat alone in the shared kitchen and living area. Jason had made a decision. One that he thought would take weeks to come to, yet here he was on his third day ready to stay in Wayne Manor. Who would’ve thought? Certainly not Roy-

_ Shit. _

Jason darted from the barstool immediately, racing through the house to his room and searching for a bag of some sort. Anything to shove some food, money, clothes, or blankets into. The teen managed to find a red duffel bag in the closet, more than large enough to carry anything he needed. Jay tossed the bag onto the bed before getting to work in scouring the house for essentials no one would miss. He managed to grab a few shirts, both long sleeves and short sleeves, along with some sweatpants and jeans. He and Roy were around the same size, and if they didn’t fit then the other would just have to deal with it. Jason stuffed a wool blanket into the bag before heading to the kitchen. 

Bruce was at work, everyone else was at school, so the only real threat to his plan was Alfred. And the worst part was that Jay never knew where the butler was until he was right behind him, cleaning  _ something. _ It was almost unnerving at this point. 

Jason got right to work in raiding the fridge, stuffing containers of leftovers in the bag and taking a quick glance around before darting out of the kitchen. He ran back up the stairs, into his room and let out a long breath. He needed to leave, and he had to do it now if he wanted to get back before anyone noticed he was gone. 

Who was he kidding, no one would notice.

Jay fell onto the large bed, bringing his wrist before his eyes and biting his bottom lip. “We were gold,” he spat, reading the words aloud. “The fuck is that even supposed to mean?” he questioned as he sat up abruptly. “Gold, my ass… You aren’t any help, where the hell are you? Stupid soulmates, stupid soulmarks…” 

“Soulmates are quite the intriguing topic, are they not, Master Jason?”  _ Are you kidding me? _

“Jesus Christ, Alfred,” Jason snapped, turning around to face the elder. “How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough,” the man spoke, arms behind his back. “I see you have plans to go somewhere?” 

Jay looked back to the back, face flushing red. “None of your business.” 

“Of course, Sir, I had no intention of prying.” The boy furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. “I wish you best of luck then,” Alfred said with a nod. “I suggest you return before the boys come home, which is approximately,” he paused, looking at his watch, “four hours. Sir.”

Jason simply stared, chewing on his bottom lip as Alfred began to make his way out of the room. Every urge the teen had that's says to go it alone, to refuse to tell the butler where he was going or ask for help was silenced as he called out just one word. “Wait.” Despite never wanting to admit it, he needed help. There was no point in getting lost on his way there or back, only to be found by the cops, some creep in an alley, or even worse: the Joker. 

Alfred turned with a slight smile on his face as he raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Sir?”

“I… I could use a ride,” Jason muttered, crossing his arms. 

The butler nodded, “of course, Master Jason.” Jay allowed a grin to shine through his expression as he grabbed the duffel bag, swinging it over a shoulder as the two made their way out of the room. “Where are we going, might I ask?”

“Crime Alley,” the boy responded hesitantly. He knew Alfred would take him, at least he hoped he would. So far, reading Alfred was both the easiest yet the hardest of the family. The man seemed like a simple butler, one that responded to anyone’s needs in an instant but also questioned everything the boys did. 

“Follow me then,” Alfred said, leading Jay through a door leading to the garage. The teens jaw dropped at the sight of the space, countless cars that more than likely costed more than the apartment filling the area. “We’ll take this one.” The two made their way to a smaller, less expensive looking car. 

“Are you going to tell anyone where we’re going?” Jason asked, opening to door to the passenger side and climbing in. He buckled his seat belt before holding the duffel bag on his lap. 

“It is your own private business, Master Jason. It is not my place to tell.” Jay was liking Alfred more and more every minute. The butler got into the car as well, pressing a button that caused the garage door to open. He started the car and they were on their way. 

Jason ran through a series of things he could tell Roy the second he saw him, countless questions as well. Where was Kori? Were they okay? Were they safe? The Joker hadn’t gone after them, had he? Were they mad at him for leaving? 

Thought after thought raced through his head, nearly causing it to ache as he watched the word pass by out the window. Parts of Gotham he didn’t recognize morphed into run down buildings he knew by heart. Alleyways caused a rush of nostalgia as he remembered each one he’d ever slept in, run down or passed through. Old restaurants and food trucks lined the streets, the area becoming instantly familiar at the pass of the Big Belly Burger Joint where this had all started. They drove into the parking lot of the establishment, Alfred turning to Jay.

“Can you find your way from here, Sir?”

“Yeah of course,” Jay shrugged, opening the car door. “Thanks, for the ride. I’ll be back soon.”

“Not by yourself, Master Jason,” the butler raised an eyebrow, opening his own door and stepping out. Jay mirrored his actions. This guy couldn’t be serious. 

“What? No, there’s no way you’re coming with me,” the teen scoffed, grabbing the duffel bag slamming the door shut before pulling his hood up. “I know these streets, I know these people. You won’t last five-”

“I’ll ‘last’ as long as I need to,” Alfred interrupted. “Sir.”

Jay paused, biting his bottom lip and shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “...Fine. But don’t let anyone see us together. Just, walk behind me or somethin’.”

“You won’t even know I’m there.” 

The boy nodded, turning away and slipping in to a jog as he made his way down the streets. Roy’s place wasn’t too far, just a couple blocks down and in the depths of an alley no one occupied. Would Roy be pissed that Jason never gave word that he was okay? Not having a phone was no excuse, as the manor had landlines galor and both Roy and Kori had a burner phone. The only reason that seemed valid enough to pull was the fact that Jay had no way of finding his way back. The manor was miles away, so even if he did know his way to and from, it was just far too dangerous to go alone in the dark for hours on end with the Joker lurking about as it was. 

Jason stood at the entrance of the all too familiar alleyway as he slowed to a stop, breathing unevenly as he wasn’t used to taking three entire days off to sleep and eat. Like a normal teenager. He started making his way towards the small rundown apartment he was so used to going to, the apartment he, Roy,and Kori vowed to clean up and live in when they were younger. God, they were so naive. His heart pounded in his ears as he heard voices coming from the apartment, voices he so desperately missed. 

Voices. Plural. 

“Kori,” Jay whispered to himself, eyes widening as he suddenly had all the energy in the world to sprint the remaining way and raise a fist to knock on the door. 

“What do you mean, he has not come back?!” 

“Kori-”

“No! He could be hurt, or in jail, Jack could have done something to him, Roy!”

_ Shit _ . Jason took a breath, and knocked on the door. The voices stopped immediately as the teen reached forward to twist the doorknob, yanking the door open before either one inside could make any efforts to hide. 

Roy’s jaw physically dropped, eyes widening as his fists clenched. Kori gasped, a flurry of emotions rushing over her expression in a split second. Her hair was just as beautiful and flaming red as ever, complimenting her tan skin. She wore a tight purple crop top, slim jeans and a torn pair of converse. “Surprise?” Jay chuckled lightly. And in the blink of an eye, Jay was on the ground with a very angry, yet concerned Kori Anders on top of him. It was either a hug or a choke hold, much too soon to tell. 

“Jesus, Kori, don’t kill him quite yet he just got back!” Roy laughed, pulling the girl off as she held an unreadable look on her face. 

“Where were you?!” Kori snapped, her voice on the verge of breaking. “We were worried, are you hurt? Did Jack do something to you-” 

“Calm down, it’s alright I’m fine,” Jason smiled lightly, setting the bag on the ground and closing the door behind him. “Jack didn’t do shit.” 

“Then where the hell were you man?” Roy spoke up. 

Jason took a breath, trying to think of where to start. Where could he start? Stealing Bruce Wayne’s tires going a direction no one expected, making bread at whatever time in the morning, bonding with an old butler faster than he had with anyone else? “I, well…”

“What happened, with the job Jack gave you? Have you just been in hiding since-”

“Let him speak, Roy,” Kori sighed, crossing her arms. The redhead opened his mouth to retaliate before realizing that defying Kori in this state would not be a very wise idea. “Thank you. Jason?”

“Right, so, I guess I should start with the fact that I didn’t get arrested, and Jack didn’t find me. Actually, I haven’t seen him since Saturday,” Jays voice trailed of before he blinked himself back into reality, away from the thoughts of what would’ve happened to him if the Joker had found him. “Bruce caught me though, as I was pulling screws out, and he just, asked if I was hungry.” There was a pause.

“And?” Roy inquired. 

“I said yes?” The two before him gave the most unimpressed, disappointed of looks. “I couldn’t deny free food from a billionaire! Besides, I didn’t know when Jack wanted me back so I figured I should just wait until I got some sort of word to return. Which… never happened.”

Roy ran a hand over his face. “So, where the hell did you go?” 

“I may or may not have gone back to their big ass mansion and stayed there for the past three days,” Jason mumbled, words barely audible. 

“Sorry, you what-”

“I am now, going to stay, at Wayne fuckin Manor!” the teen dragged out his words. 

“...I’m sorry, you what?!” This time Kori was speaking up, shock coating her expression as she and Roy gawked at the boy in front of them. “You, you cannot be serious!”

“Look, I stayed there for the past three days and, guys I don’t feel like I’m dying every second of the day. I’m eating actual food, I get a bed, you can’t expect me to pass that up completely.”

“Look,” Roy began, letting out a long breath of air. “I know your apartment with Jack and Harley sucks, I get it, but if you wanted to get out why didn’t you come stay with Kori and I? It’s no ‘Wayne Manor’ but at least you wouldn’t be fuckin’ abandoning us!”

“I never said it was permanent! We’re still getting out of here, the three of us, together,” Jay snapped. “I’m just, taking some time and taking advantage of not being beat with a fucking crowbar whenever I do something wrong!”

“Then again, why didn’t you just come live here?!”

“Please, both of you-”

“Because he would find me okay?! He would find us! And I can’t go back now, I don’t have a death wish!”

“Clearly you’re just  _ that  _ selfish then!”

“Guys-”

“I can’t come back and live here or go back to Jack because he would kill me!” Jason screamed, slamming a fist on the wall. “He would kill both of you!”

“I-”

“Will the two of you just shut up?!” Kori’s voice overpowered the two boys, causing them both to freeze and jerk their gaze to her. “Roy, stop being a stubborn baby and let Jason explain himself. Jason, stop refusing to accept that your actions hurt us. Because we were scared for your life, and you are not seeing how awful, and terrifying that was for me to come home to Roy telling me Jack put you on a job that could get you arrested or killed!” 

The three stood in silence at the girls words, letting them sink in the air and register in their minds. 

“...Kori, I’m so, sorry. Both of you I just,” Jay suttered over his own sentences. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I wanted to come back, tell you guys what was going on but I don’t have any idea how to get from Wayne Manor back to Crime Alley. I’m only here because their butler was willing to give me a ride while everyone was out for the day.”

“Hold on,” Roy chuckled lightly, tension from before slipping away. “You have a butler now?”

“Yes?” Jason laughed as well, rubbing the back of his neck. “Alfred. He seems really cool until he appears behind you whenever convenient. Fuckin’ terrifying.” The three allowed the air to lighten, moving to sit on the torn couches in the living room. “They’re all great though, at least I think they are. I haven’t decided. Either way, like I said before, it isn’t a permanent stay. I just need to take advantage of a safe space, and the fact that they’re loaded as hell. I can help you guys now.”

“Does that have anything to do with what is in the duffel bag?” Kori asked, eyeing the bag near the door. 

“Oh, right!” Jay nodded, jumping from his seat and bringing it back to the group as he set it on the coffee table. “They have so much extra shit laying around, they won’t even notice anything’s gone.” He unzipped the bag as Kori and Roy peered into it, gawking at the sight of everything Jason had stuffed into it. 

“This is more food than I have seen in a long time!” Kori exclaimed, rummaging through the bags contents. “And blankets, clothes! Jason this is truly amazing!”

“Holy fuck dude,” Roy gasped out, pulling out the softest blanket he’d ever felt in his life. “This really is some rich people shit! If this is a perk of you being a Wayne kid I’m all for it, I take back everything I said.”

“I’m not gonna be ‘a Wayne Kid,’” Jason grimaced, shoving his friend playfully as Kori tugged on a hoodie way too big for her. “I’m just staying for the perks.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Besides, he was sure if he told himself enough then it would eventually become true. It worked with convincing himself he’d never find his soulmate, no reason it wouldn’t do just as well in this situation. 

“Yeah, yeah,” the redhead chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, how long before you go back?” Jay looked at a clock hanging on the wall across from them.

“Couple hours. Prep boys over there go to some private school and get home around two-thirty, so we got about two hours before I need to be back.”

“Only two?” Kori piped up, shoveling chips into her mouth. “But, you just got home?” 

“I know, Kor, but if they realized I was gone they might get suspicious. Besides, I’m pretty sure Alfred can give me a ride whenever to come back and visit you guys.”

“Know how long you’ll be stayin’ with them?” Roy spoke with a full mouth as well, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in hand. 

“Not really, depends on how long they’ll keep me,” the boy chuckled. “Which won’t be very long so you two had better sit tight here and wait for me, because if I can get my hands on some shit and sell it, we really could get out of here.”

Kori gleamed at the others words, her emerald eyes brightening. “Yes! And we will be together. Just as we planned.”

“As long as you guys stay out of trouble,” Jay chuckled. “I don’t wanna steal too much money just to bail you out.”

“Aw who do you think we are, Jason?” Roy slung an arm around the others shoulder. “We’re just your average, rich, christian teenagers!”

“Oh, shut up,” the other laughed, shoving his friend playfully. “I’m serious.” 

“We will do our best to stay out of trouble, do not worry,” Kori smiled, placing a hand on Jason’s knee. Her soulmark was written across her knuckles, handwriting sloppy and almost illegible. “Lifelines are difficult” had been written for as long as any of them could remember, a line Kori felt all too much. At least she and her soulmate were similar in some sense, Jay’s being an elegant font with beautiful words that contrasted completely from his own personality. Roy’s was “the fire is waiting around me” in round, bubbly handwriting. He resented talking about it just as much as Jason did, Kori only open about hers stemming from hope that someone was made for her. Roy and Jay were the complete and utter opposite, instead putting walls up that would remain for as long as they could keep them that way. They pitied their soulmates, feeling bad that they were stuck with two of the biggest fuck-ups on the planet. 

A knock on the door caused the three to jump, jerking them out of their thoughts. Roy immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade that Jay forgot was even there. Kori clenched her fists, Jason doing the three as the trio rose from their spots. “Curtains are closed, we weren’t that loud and even if we were,” Roy whispered, “no one comes down this way.” 

“You do not think Jack found us… do you?” Kori inquired, pressing her lips together. 

Jason tensed at the name, taking a deep breath as he glared at the door. “No, no there’s no way he could’ve known where we are. He doesn’t even know I’m back.”

“Well clearly someone knows we’re here,” the redhead snapped as he inched his way towards the door. “Kori, cover the left, Jay you take the right and I’ll open the door.” The two nodded, taking their places. “Okay… three, two, one!” And with that Roy pulled the door open, raising the blade. “Who are-” The scowl on his face instantly relaxed as an eyebrow raised in confusion, “you?” 

“I suggest you put the knife down, as it is never polite to greet someone with a blade in their face.” Jason recognized the voice as soon as it spoke. He made his way next to Roy, letting out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Ah, Master Jason, glad to see you’re in good condition.”

“I’m fine, Alfred,” Jay sighed. 

“Wait, you know this man?” Kori asked, coming out into view. 

“Yeah, yeah this is the butler I was telling you guys about-”

“Ha!” Roy barked out a laugh, shoving his switchblade back into his pocket. “So you weren’t lyin’ about having a fuckin’ butler were you?”

“As happy as it makes me to know Master Jason is thinking about me, it is time for us to go,” the man explained. “Master Bruce shall be returning soon and I doubt he’d appreciate me taking you out this far without permission.”

“Right, right can I just,” Jason stumbled over his words as he looked back to his friends. “Can I say goodbye?”

“Of course, sir.” Alfred nodded with a smile, closing the door. 

The three stood in silence, the air oddly heavy. “You really are ditching us for a group of rich assholes.” 

“That’s not what this is, Roy-”

“It is! That’s exactly what it is!” the teen yelled, stepping towards Jay. 

“Please do not fight again,” Kori sighed, eyeing the two.

“No! He’s leaving us for a butler and fuckin’ Bruce Wayne! I don’t care how much food this prick brings, he gets it constantly while we’re stuck back here eating leftovers!” 

“Are you shitting me?” Jason yelled back, getting closer to the other as well. “I’m risking finally getting a safe place to be for you! I didn’t have to come back dickhead!” 

“Both of you, quit it!” 

“How can I when Jason’s leaving us?” Roy’s voice strained as he turned to face Kori. “What about our plan, our, our grand scheme to get the hell out of Gotham and buy a small house on the fuckin’ beach or some shit? What about years of planning and saving for that, huh?”

“I told you, we’re still doing that-”

“Like hell we are, there’s no way you can tell me you’re suddenly gonna give up living as some spoiled rich boy any time soon!” Roy raised his hands to shove Jason back, the younger too shocked at the action to keep his balance. 

“Fuck you!” Jay snapped, regaining focus and shoving the other in return. 

“No, fuck you, Jay! Screw you and your stupid new family, see how much they back you up when you fuck up!” Roy said with a final push, grabbing storming off down a hallway and slamming a door. “Now piss out of my house!”

Jason simply stared at where his friend had retreated to before looking back to Kori. The girl held a sincere look on her face, tears building. “He will not stay angry with you forever, he will get over it,” she smiled sadly. The shorter nodded, smiling softly in return and pulling her into a tight hug. “I am going to miss you…”

“I’m still coming back with food, clothes, all that junk, every now and then. It’ll be like I never left. All that matters is that you guys are okay, and with you disappearing for a while I was scared as hell,” Jason admitted, letting out a breath of air. “You guys’ll be just fine without me. Just, be careful. Don’t let Roy do anything stupid okay?”

Kori nodded, pulling back and wiping her cheek. “We will get out of here soon, the three of us.”

“Yes we will.” Jay opened the door, Alfred still standing there. He looked back to the girl with flaming red hair for the last time in who knows how long. “See you soon, Kori.”

“See you soon, Jason.” 

The door closed, and they were gone. 

 

~

The ride back to the manor was a silent one, as it was impossible that Alfred hadn’t heard anything said back at the apartment. What worried Jason the most was the fact that the butler had certainly heard him yelling about leeching off the Wayne’s to steal for his friends and eventually ditch the family. The butlers silence was an indicator that either a: he was going to tell Bruce and it would be back on the streets for good, proving Roy right as his words echoed in the boys head. Or B: Alfred would keep the secret and nothing would change. 

The latter was the only appealing option. 

They pulled into the manor, the two exiting the car, going into the house and making their way to the living room. “Where were you?”  _ Goddamnit. _

“Ah, Master Bruce,” Alfred grinned. “I was showing Master Jason around the outside of the Manor as he’s been hauled in here all weekend.”

“And you took a car?,” the man chuckled, raising an eyebrow, “what, you couldn’t have walked around?”

“Still tired,” Jason muttered, leaning flopping onto one of the excessively large couches. It wasn’t a complete lie, the teen was still exhausted as his entire sleep schedule was messed up at this point. “And your area is big as hell so-” he moved his gaze to Alfred at the word, but the other was unphased. Guess he got a pass with that one. “I just didn’t wanna walk around it.”

“I understand,” Bruce nodded. “Anyways, the boys will be back in a couple minutes so, I was wondering if you were absolutely certain about your choice?”

Jay wrung his hands in his lap, biting his bottom lip and rubbing his soulmark. “I think so, yeah.” Roy’s voice played in his head, over and over again and causing his own words to fumble. The redhead had fair points, and they were drilling into Jason’s mind.  _ See how much they back you up when you fuck up!  _ Was he right? Were the Wayne’s going to accept the shattered form of a human being that sat in their living room. 

“You don’t sound too sure-”

“It’s a big decision, alright?” Jason snapped before sighing. “I just, this all happened so soon and I’m just running shit through my head? I don’t know.” 

“How about, we just decide to let you stay a little longer. Call it another week, and see how you feel by the end of it?” Bruce suggested.

“...Yeah, yeah that sounds good.”

“Good,” the man smiled. As if on cue, the door burst open and an array of voices startled Jason into jerking his gaze to the all too familiar group of raven-haired boys. Dick tossed his bag to the ground in the entrance and kicked his shoes off. Tim immediately made his way upstairs to do who knows what while Damian mirrored Dick’s actions. 

“Alfred, Bruce, we have returned!” Richard yelled out, mocking a british accent and causing Jason to snort out a laugh. The older had struck a ridiculous pose, yet the sound of Jay’s laugh caused him to relax as a wide smile crossed his face. “Jason?”

“The one and only,” he rolled his eyes. 

“You’re, you’re still here?”

“Well, yeah?-” the teen was cut short by something he’d only ever dreamt about. Once. On accident. Maybe it was just a thought, not an entire dream. Either way, being hugged and literally being picked up off the ground in said tight embrace was most certainly not how he had planned greeting Dick. He’d expected the warm smile, the bright eyes and sincere look, but being suffocated in a hug was not on that list. “Uh… Dick? I can’t breathe.”

“Oh! Sorry, sorry,” Dick laughed, dropping the younger as ruffling his hair. “I realized I hadn’t subjected you to my amazing, record breaking hugs yet. I realized it in Pre Calc today and thought you’d be too far in the city for you to receive.” Was this boy even real?

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Jason huffed, crossing his arms. 

“So, Todd is staying?” Damian’s voice piped up from behind the couch, Jay jumping at the sudden sound. Was everyone in this family a trained assassin? 

“For another week,” Bruce nodded, rising from his seat. “We’ve decided to give him time to adjust before he makes a final decision.”

“Tt, whatever,” Damian spat. “As long as he stays out of my room, away from my animals and personal space, I suppose it’s alright.”

“Aw, come on Dami, I know you’re glad he’s staying for a bit,” Dick grinned, ruffling the boys hair playfully. 

“Am not!” the Demon Spawn retaliated. “I’m going to my room, I have homework.”

“Tell Tim to come downstairs!” the older called after him as the footsteps grew quiet. It was a short silence as within the next minute another pair of footsteps was racing down the stairs. 

“Damian said you needed me? Oh, hey Jason,” the boy shrugged, walking into the living room and falling back onto the couch. 

“Yes,” Bruce spoke up. “Jason is going to be staying with us for the next week and make his decision by then so we aren’t rushing him.” Tim simple shrugged, raising an eyebrow as if the news wasn’t worth the energy coming downstairs for. As if anything else would have been more entertaining. 

“Figured.”

“How did you-”

“I could go into a lengthy, in depth explanation as to why Jason staying is the most obvious end-case scenario, but I’d assume it would sound like gibberish to you so I don’t want to bother too much.” Silence. “And I’m tired. Don’t feel like it.” There it was. 

“Alright, just, letting you know for a fact then,” Bruce chuckled, a soft smile on his face. 

“Coffee in the kitchen, Alfred?”

“Always, Sir,” Alfred nodded. “Follow me then.”

Tim jumped from his seat, looking back to Jason before making his way into the kitchen. “Glad to hear you’re staying.”

“It’s only for a week,” the teen corrected. 

Tim rolled his eyes. “Mhm. Glad to hear.” 

Alfred, Bruce, Dick and Jason were left standing in the living room, unsure of how to react to the two youngers reactions. Neither seemed to care all that much, and that was either a great, or an awful sign. They really could just be that okay with Jason suddenly living with them, or they knew he was going to fuck up and be gone within the next day. the sound of Roy slamming the door replaying in Jason's head a final time. Either way, Jay was glad they didn’t make a scene of it. 

“So,” Jason paused, “am I just gonna stay here alone all week while everyone else is at school?”

“Oh, right, about that,” Bruce smiled, “you’ll be attending school with the boys.” The teen nearly choked at Bruce’s words. 

“Sorry, what? I’m going to  _ Gotham Academy? _ ”

“Oh course. We won’t be permanently enrolling you of course until you’ve made a decision on your stay, but you’ll be going to school alongside Dick with his schedule. We would keep you with Tim but he’s taking too many college classes for the school to allow you to take. Alfred and I were looking at your past school records and while you’ve scored quite flawlessly, you’ve missed a couple years,” the man explained. 

“So, I’m going to be a junior?” Jay asked. 

Bruce nodded. “Dick is in all honors and an AP course, but all you have to worry about is attending the classes. Your decision to stay would be the deciding factor in you being in those classes officially. That is, if we don’t decide to get you a seperate schedule.” 

Jason ran through the conversation in his head. He was going to the richest private school in Gotham, and to top it off he’d be stuck by Dick’s side the entire week. For seven hours straight. The whole situation was a mess, but at this point what did he have to lose? Roy had made his stance pretty clear, Kori was alright but she’d be fine without him. They were better off without him in the end. Eventually, the Waynes would get themselves together if he decided to stay. Besides, his last decision hadn’t gone well with the people he cared about.

Not that he cared about the Wayne family. 

Obviously. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! That was that! Hope it was worth the long wait, don't worry I'll make it up to y'all on Tuesday :) I'm really tired and have exams tomorrow, hence my week long absence cause I had an essay and constant test review. Criticism is welcomed, support is appreciated, and a big thanks to my editor for sticking by.   
> -Dean


	7. yes, this again

ignore my grammar and lack of capitalization i’m typing this on my phone because of course when i plan on coming back everything starts to fall apart.  
literally in this case.   
my laptops hard drive completely fried, and while i was lucky to save all my work for this piece on google docs (so i can access it anywhere not just my laptop), it’s the only thing i had to write with. yes i have my phone however there’s many aspects that just make doing so extremely frustrating and impractical. ill still be editing the already posted chapters and adding some extra parts to make the story/future chapters flow better so if you want to read back on it i recommend doing so so that you’re aware of these changes.   
i don’t know when i’ll be able to get my laptop fixed let alone get a new one. schools eating me alive and there’s many mental things going on. i’m not abandoning this fic, however i have no idea when it will be returning. i’m really sorry especially for constantly adding chapters just to disappoint the people keeping track of this and for apologizing without being able to fix the issue. this will probably be the last of what you hear from me until i’m able to come back full time and back on schedule.   
thank you for being so patient and if there’s anyone still keeping track of this, it means a lot to me. also if you have suggestions leave them not so i can try to incorporate them. also, question: would you guys rather see the story take place during or after the school year cause i’m hella conflicted.  
anyways, i hope to see you all soon. i appreciate the love and support, my email is listed on my profile and thanks again.  
-Dean


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